The American Heart Association (AHA) says that more than 940,000 Americans died of cardiovascular causes in 2022, making it the leading cause of death in this country.
The AHA’s latest statistical report shows that cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounted for 941,652 deaths in the U.S. in 2022. Heart disease and stroke claimed more lives than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined. In 2021 there were 931,578 cardiovascular deaths, slightly less than in 2022, according to The Washington Post,.
The 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update reveals that coronary heart disease claimed 39.5% of lives, followed by stroke at 17.6% in 2022. The AHA report notes that other cardiovascular diseases were responsible for 17% of deaths, followed by hypertensive disorders (14%), heart failure (9.3%), and arterial diseases (2.6%).
On average in 2022, someone died of a stroke every three minutes 11 seconds, accounting for one out of every 20 deaths in the U.S. Approximately every 40 seconds, says the report, someone suffers a myocardial infarction, or heart attack.
The report further states that between 2017 and 2020, 48.6% of U.S adults had some form of cardiovascular disease.
An AHA news release says that while medical advances have helped more people live longer with cardiovascular diseases, many of the risk factors that cause these diseases, including high blood pressure and obesity, are growing at alarming rates.
The good news is that tobacco use is down, and people are paying more attention to high cholesterol levels, said Dr. Keith Churchill, the volunteer president of the AHA who is an associate clinical professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. And experts say that advances in medication therapies to treat obesity is another positive sign.
However, AHA spokespersons warn that more medical intervention is necessary to treat high-risk populations.
“The disparities in risk and outcomes call for tailored interventions among high-risk populations,” said cardiologist Dr. Dhruv S. Kazi, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “Simply discovering breakthrough therapies isn’t going to be enough – we have to ensure that these therapies are accessible and affordable to people who need them most.”
Churchill points out that heart disease was once considered a “death sentence” but now people can live longer, healthier lives even after a cardiovascular event.
“Certainly, any medical or clinical therapy that can treat the risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease are essential. More importantly, I would say that we need to stop these risk factors in their tracks, keep people healthy throughout their lifespan. That will only be possible with a strong emphasis on early prevention and equitable health access for all,” he added.