Heart Disease and Stroke Continue to Account for More than a Quarter of Human Mortality
By far the largest single cause of human mortality is atherosclerosis, the growth of fatty plaques that narrow and weaken blood vessels. Atherosclerosis is a universal phenomenon, occurring in every older person to some degree. Absent other causes of mortality, everyone would ultimately be killed by one of the consequences of the presence of severe atherosclerosis; reduced blood flow, heart failure, or rupture of an unstable plaque leading to heart attack or stroke. A sizable industry is focused on the development of new therapies for atherosclerosis, but no approach that can reliably regress existing plaques has yet to reach clinical development. It remains a largely irreversible condition, one that can only be slowed to some degree.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. and stroke has moved up to the #4 spot. Together, heart disease and stroke accounted for more than a quarter of all deaths in the U.S. in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available. Cardiovascular diseases, including all types of heart disease and stroke, claim more lives in the U.S. each year than all forms of cancer and accidental deaths - the #2 and #3 causes of death - 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. 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."
These health factors not only contribute to heart disease and stroke, they also lead to other complications. Because of the interconnectivity of these conditions, for the first time this year's American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update includes a chapter on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a health disorder made up of connections between heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity, leading to poor health outcomes.
A review of 59 studies from 2010 to 2022 found that people who had ideal cardiovascular health as measured by Life's Essential 8 had a 74% lower risk of cardiovascular events compared with those who had poor cardiovascular health. In the United States, optimal Life's Essential 8 scores could prevent up to 40% of annual all-cause and cardiovascular disease deaths among adults. Better cardiovascular health was also associated with better brain health including younger brain age, less subclinical vascular disease, slower cognitive decline, and reduced dementia risk.