More than 859,000 Americans die of heart disease, stroke, or other cardiovascular diseases every year—that’s one-third of all US deaths. These diseases also take an economic toll, costing $213.8 billion a year to our health care system and causing $137.4 billion in lost productivity from premature death alone.
CDC supports programs that help millions of Americans control their high blood pressure and reduce other risk factors. These efforts have helped lower death rates from heart disease and stroke, which are the first and fifth leading causes of death in the United States.