Cardiovascular health refers to the health of the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease is a group of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, heart arrhythmias, and heart valve problems. There are several risk factors that lead to the development of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, tobacco use, and diabetes.

Heart disease is one of the most widespread and complicated health challenges in the United States and around the world. Cardiovascular disease — disorders of the heart and blood vessels — accounted for more than 860,000 (about one in three) deaths in the United States in 2017, according to the American Heart Association.

Who Is At Risk?

Heart disease is responsible for most deaths worldwide for both men and women of all races.

As of 2018, 30.3 million U.S. adults were diagnosed with heart disease. Every year, about 647,000 Americans die from heart disease, making it the leading cause of death in the United States. Heart disease causes 1 out of every 4 deaths.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately every 40 seconds an American will have a heart attack. Every year, 805,000 Americans have a heart attack, 605,000 of them for the first time.

About 12 percent of people who have a heart attack will die from it.

Coronary artery disease, a blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the heart, is the most common type of heart disease. Coronary heart disease affects about 18.2 million Americans age 20 and older, and it killed nearly 366,000 in 2017.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for most racial and ethnic groups. In 2015, it was responsible for 23.7 percent of deaths in white people and 23.5 percent in Black people.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Women are just as likely as men to have a heart attack.

Not as many men die from heart disease each year as women. According to the American Heart Association, 26 percent of women will die within a year of a heart attack compared with 19 percent of men.

By 5 years after a heart attack, almost 50 percent of women die, develop heart failure, or have a stroke compared with 36 percent of men.