Overview:
The number of Americans succumbing to cardiovascular disease has decreased every year since the pandemic. But heart disease and stroke still led to more than one death every 34 seconds.
First, the good news: new data shows medical advances are helping people with cardiovascular disease live longer, and the number of Americans who die from the disease has decreased every year since the pandemic.
Now, the dark cloud around that silver lining: the same data shows heart disease and stroke still cause more than one out of every four deaths in the U.S. And Black Americans still have some of the worst cardiovascular disease health outcomes on the planet, due in part to a rise in the number of people grappling with underlying health risks, like high blood pressure, and obesity.
The numbers are included in the latest issue of Circulation, the online journal of the American Heart Association. The publication also notes that roughly 60% of Black adults have some type of cardiovascular disease, compared with 49% of all U.S. adults. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary heart disease, heart failure, hypertension, and stroke.
Dr. Stacey E. Rosen, volunteer president of the American Heart Association, said it’s “encouraging” that fatalities due to heart disease and stroke are trending downward, “given the huge impact the [COVID-19] pandemic had on all health during that time.” But heart disease and stroke, she said, are still leading causes of death in the U.S.
“The fact remains that heart disease and stroke continue to take the lives of too many of our loved ones each and every day,” she said. “Together, they still kill more people than the [second and third leading] causes of death, which include all types of cancer and accidents, combined.”
“The good news is that, overall, fewer people are dying from any cause, and death rates are improving as life expectancy continues to rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic,” said AHA’s Dr. Latha P. Palaniappan. “However, about half of all U.S. adults continue to have some form of cardiovascular disease. Those rates are still higher than they were before the pandemic and persistent increases in common conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity continue to drive the risk.”
According to Circulation, in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, someone died from heart disease or stroke every 34 seconds. At the same time, the data shows, Black Americans have the worst overall cardiovascular disease health outcomes in the country.
The Pressure–More Black Americans Impacted
While the overall numbers are positive, the picture isn’t quite as good for Black Americans.
The data showed roughly 60% of Black adults have some type of cardiovascular disease as opposed to 49% of all U.S. adults.
More than half of U.S. adults under age 50 who were hospitalized for heart failure were Black. Heart failure means a person’s heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs or cannot fill properly with blood. This condition leads to symptoms such as shortness of breath, tiredness, swelling in the legs or feet, and trouble with physical activity.
This differs from coronary heart disease, which is the most common form of cardiovascular disease that often leads to heart attacks.
When it comes to underlying health conditions that increase the risk of coronary disease, things aren’t much better. Nearly 6 in 10 Black women and men Black men have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, compared with 43% of all U.S. women and around half of all U.S. men.
Stroke Overtakes COVID
Stroke and stroke-related complications have surpassed COVID as the nation’s fourth leading cause of death. More than 5% of U.S. deaths are now from strokes.
The AHA finds the prevalence of stroke is highest among Black women closely followed by Black men. Slightly more than 5% of Black women and almost the same percentage of Black men suffered from stroke, compared to just 2.9% of all U.S. women and 3.6% of all men.
Particularly troubling is the trend showing an increase in stroke deaths among both the youngest and the oldest populations. Between 2013 and 2023, there was an 8% increase in the stroke death rate among people ages 25 to 34 and an 18% increase in the rate among people over age 85.
Sitting Really Is the New Smoking
Unfortunately, experts say, not enough Americans are doing what prevents cardiovascular diseases. Only around a quarter of U.S. adults meet national physical activity guidelines.
While smoking rates have been declining for decades, e-cigarettes have become so popular that almost 3 million students report using them. Roughly 26% of middle and high school students use e-cigarettes every day.
Meanwhile, diabetes rates are still quite high: just half of U.S. adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes actually have their condition under control.
“We know that as much as 80% of heart disease and stroke is preventable with lifestyle changes and many chronic health conditions that contribute to poor cardiovascular health are manageable,” Rosen said. “Improving your cardiovascular health is possible. However, it will take a concerted effort.”
RELATED: Women With Fibroids Have Sharply Increased Heart Disease Risk, Study Says