(Family Characteristics) Taking care of your heart with healthy behaviors may already be at the top of your wellness priority list, and there may be good news about the effects of following expert recommendations.
New information from the Update to the American Heart Association’s 2026 heart disease and stroke statistics shows that the number of deaths from heart disease and stroke is decreasing. However, the numbers continue to rise for high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity – all health risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease.
Heart disease: how to prevent it
Following expert guidance can be your prescription for better health, as 80% of heart disease and stroke are preventable.
To maintain and improve your cardiovascular health, consider following the American Heart Association’s guidelines Life is essential 8This is a set of four health behaviors (eating better, being more active, quitting smoking, and sleeping healthily) and four health factors (managing weight, controlling cholesterol, controlling blood sugar, and controlling blood pressure).
In the United States, optimal Life’s Essential 8 scores could prevent up to 40% of annual deaths from all causes and cardiovascular disease among adults.
Consider these highlights from the stats update:
- Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US and stroke is the fourth leading cause of death.
- Together, heart disease and stroke were responsible for more than a quarter of all deaths in the US in 2023.
- Cardiovascular disease, including all types of heart disease and stroke, claims more lives in the U.S. each year than all cancers and accidental deaths – the No. 2 and 3 causes of death – combined.
- In 2023, someone would die from cardiovascular disease on average every 34 seconds.
- In the US, an average of about two people died from heart disease every three minutes in 2023.
- In 2023, someone in the US would die from a stroke on average every 3 minutes and 14 seconds
- Nearly half of American adults now have high blood pressure.
- Nearly 29.5 million American adults have been diagnosed with diabetes.
- About 50% of American adults are obese or severely obese, and 28.1% of youth ages 2 to 19 are obese.
- Only 1 in 4 American adults meet national physical activity guidelines. Only 1 in 5 American youth between the ages of 6 and 17 is physically active for 60 minutes or more every day of the week.
To learn more about how you can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, visit heart.org.
SOURCE: American Heart Association
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