Heart disease kills more people than any other cause, as many of the risk factors contributing to it continue to rise, according to data reported in the 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report from the American Heart Association.
“Did you know that in the U.S., someone dies from cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds? Nearly 2,500 people in the U.S. die from cardiovascular disease every day. These are alarming statistics to me – and they should be alarming to all of us, because many of those we lose are likely our friends and loved ones,” said Keith Churchwell, M.D., FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association. “Many people are dying from heart disease and stroke, which remains the 5th leading cause of death. Together, they kill more people than all cancers and accidental deaths – the #2 and #3 causes of death – combined.”
According to the Association’s 2025 statistical report, in 2022 (the most recent year for which final data is available), the total number of deaths related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in the U.S. was 941,652, an increase of more than 10,000 from the 931,578 CVD deaths in 2021.
According to the Association’s 2025 Statistical Update:
• Nearly 47% of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure.
• More than 72% of adults in the U.S. have unhealthy weight (currently defined as a body mass index ≥25, with nearly 42% being obese (currently defined as a body mass index ≥30).
• More than half of adults in the U.S. (57%) have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
In the editorial accompanying the 2025 Statistical Update, American Heart Association volunteer Dhruv S. Kazi, M.D., M.Sc., M.S., FAHA, chief of health economics and associate director of the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, noted that the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors is expected to worsen in the coming decades.
“While we have made significant progress against cardiovascular disease in recent decades, there is still much work to be done. If recent trends continue, hypertension and obesity will affect more than 180 million adults in the U.S. each by 2050, while the prevalence of diabetes will rise to more than 80 million. And during the same period, we expect a 300% increase in healthcare costs related to cardiovascular disease,” Kazi said.
“And it is important to recognize that while cardiovascular disease affects us all, it does not affect us equally. For example, there is significant variation in the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure by sex and race/ethnicity,” he added.
The prevalence rates of major risk factors vary widely among specific populations by sex and race/ethnicity. Below are comparisons of the highest rates with the lowest rates of major risk factors among all population groups. Rates for each individual population group can be found in the report:
• For overall obesity prevalence, Black women had the highest rate at 57.9%, compared to the lowest rate of 14.5% observed among Asian women.
• For overall diabetes prevalence, Hispanic men had the highest diabetes rate at 14.5%, compared to the lowest rate of 7.7% observed among White women.
• For overall high blood pressure prevalence, Black women had the highest rate at 58.4%, compared to the lowest rate of 35.3% observed among Hispanic women.
The prevalence of these risk factors – particularly obesity – is also growing among youth and globally:
• Up to 40% of children in the U.S. have unhealthy weight (currently defined as a body mass index ≥85th percentile), with 20% being obese (currently defined as ≥95th percentile).
• Nearly 60% of adults worldwide have unhealthy weight.
Source: American Heart Association