The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that at least 50 million Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol. In 1995, death rates from cardiovascular diseases were 36 percent higher among black than among white men and 48 percent higher among black than among white women. Cancer Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the nation. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths and has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
In 1995, colorectal cancer death rates were 44 percent higher among men than women and 36 percent higher among blacks than whites. An estimated sixteen million people in the United States have diabetes and many are unaware they have the disease. Individuals with diabetes are at increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, blindness, kidney failure, and lower extremity amputation not related to injury. Diabetes is underreported on death certificates, both as a condition and as a cause of death.