Statistics
Each
year, heart disease is at the top of the list
of the country's most serious health problems.
In fact, statistics show that cardiovascular disease
is America's leading health problem, and the
leading cause of death. Consider the most recent
statistics released by the American Heart Association
(AHA):
- At least 70 million
people in this country suffer from some form
of heart disease.
- One person in four
suffers from some form of cardiovascular disease.
This includes high blood pressure - 65
million; coronary heart disease - 13 million;
stroke - 5.4 million; congenital cardiovascular
defects - 1million; and congestive heart failure
- 4.9 million.
- Rheumatic heart disease
/ rheumatic fever kills almost 3,579 Americans
each year.
- Almost one out of every
2.6 deaths result from cardiovascular disease.
- More than 2,600 Americans
die of cardiovascular disease each day, an average
of one death every 34 seconds.
- Cardiovascular disease
is the cause of more deaths than the next five
causes of death combined, which are cancer,
chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents,
diabetes mellitus, and flu/pneumonia.
- It is a myth that heart
disease is a man's disease. In fact, cardiovascular
diseases are the number one killer of women
(and men). These diseases currently claim the
lives of more than a half a million females
every year.
- About one-third of
cardiovascular disease deaths occurred prematurely
(before age 75, the approximate average life
expectancy in that year).
- On average, someone
in the US suffers a stroke every 45 seconds;
someone dies every 3 minutes from stroke.
- Stroke is a leading
cause of serious, long-term disability that
accounts for more than half of all patients
hospitalized for a neurological disease. Stroke
deaths have been increasing in recent years.
Click
here to view the Online
Resources of Cardiovascular Disease
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