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. Almost one out of every 2.4 deaths result from cardiovascular disease. Since 1900, cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in every year but one - 1918. About every 29 seconds an American will suffer a coronary event, and about every minute someone will die from one.
Cardiovascular disease is the cause of more deaths than the next seven causes of death combined.
It is a myth that heart disease is a man's disease. These diseases currently claim the lives of more than a half a million females every year - more than the next 16 causes of death combined. In 57 percent of men and 64 percent of women who died suddenly from cardiovascular disease, there were no previous symptoms of the disease. 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.