Heart disease continues to be the main cause of death in the U.S.
Heart disease results in more fatalities than any other condition, largely due to the increasing number of risk factors contributing to it. This information comes from the 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of U.S. and Global Data From the American Heart Association. This annual update, released today in Circulation—the principal journal of the American Heart Association, a prominent global organization focused on improving health care for a healthier future for everyone.
“In the U.S., a person dies from cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds. That equals nearly 2,500 deaths each day from these conditions. These figures are shocking—they should concern all of us, as many of these individuals are likely to be our friends or family,” stated Keith Churchwell, M.D., FAHA, president of the American Heart Association. “Heart disease and stroke have a significant death toll, together claiming more lives than all cancers and accidents—our second and third leading causes of death—combined.”
The American Heart Association’s 2025 report indicates that in 2022, the most recent year for which complete data is available, there were 941,652 deaths related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the U.S.—an increase of over 10,000 from the 931,578 CVD deaths in 2021. The age-adjusted death rate for CVD was 224.3 per 100,000 individuals, a slight decline from 233.3 per 100,000 in 2021.
The report suggests that the total number of cardiovascular-related deaths may be stabilizing following a significant spike during the COVID pandemic. Notably, the age-adjusted death rates went down for all but one of the top ten causes of death, with kidney disease being the exception, which saw a rise of 1.5%.
“Over the past decade, kidney disease has been increasing. Our report highlights a notable rise in chronic kidney disease among Medicare beneficiaries, from 9.2% in 2011 to 14.2% in 2021. Additionally, the global prevalence of kidney disease has risen over 27% since 2010,” explained Seth S. Martin, M.D., M.H.S., FAHA, volunteer of the American Heart Association and chair of the statistical report writing committee. “This is crucial because CVD significantly contributes to kidney disease. Moreover, the risk factors associated with these diseases, such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes, are all rising dramatically across the U.S. and worldwide.”
Key findings from the Association’s 2025 Statistics Update include:
- Almost 47% of U.S. adults experience high blood pressure.
- Over 72% of U.S. adults are considered to have an unhealthy weight (defined as a body mass index ≥25), with approximately 42% classified as obese (body mass index ≥30).
- More than half of U.S. adults (57%) have either type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
In a 2023 advisory, the American Heart Association identified cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome as a health disorder due to the interconnected risk factors among heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity that lead to poorer health outcomes.
In an editorial accompanying the 2025 Statistics Update, Dhruv S. Kazi, M.D., M.Sc., M.S., FAHA, a volunteer with the American Heart Association and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, pointed out that the occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors is expected to deteriorate in the coming decades.
“While we have made significant strides against cardiovascular disease in recent decades, much work remains. If current trends persist, by 2050, hypertension and obesity will impact over 180 million U.S. adults, and the number of people with diabetes will exceed 80 million. Over the same period, healthcare expenses tied to cardiovascular disease are projected to surge by 300%,” Kazi noted. “Moreover, it’s critical to recognize that cardiovascular disease doesn’t affect everyone equally; there are notable disparities in obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure based on sex and race/ethnicity.”
The prevalence of significant risk factors varies widely within different sex and race/ethnicity groups. Below are comparisons between the highest and lowest rates of key risk factors:
- For obesity rates, Black women hold the highest percentage at 57.9%, while Asian women have the lowest at 14.5%.
- For diabetes rates, Hispanic men have the highest at 14.5%, with white women having the lowest at 7.7%.
- In terms of high blood pressure, Black women report the highest prevalence at 58.4%, juxtaposed with Hispanic women at the lowest rate of 35.3%.
The incidence of these risk factors—especially obesity—is also increasing among younger populations and globally:
- Up to 40% of U.S. children have an unhealthy weight (defined as a body mass index ≥85th percentile), with 20% categorized as obese (≥95th percentile).
- Nearly 60% of adults worldwide have an unhealthy weight.
“In the update, we calculated that excessive weight contributes to around 1,300 extra deaths each day in the U.S., totaling nearly 500,000 annually. It can decrease life expectancy by as much as 2.4 years compared to those with a healthy weight,” stated Latha P. Palaniappan, M.D., M.S., FAHA, a professor at Stanford University and volunteer vice-chair of the Association’s statistical update writing committee. “The impact is even more pronounced for women and African American adults than their white counterparts. Alarmingly, excess weight is now responsible for more deaths than smoking, as smoking rates have fallen in recent years. Being overweight represents a new major health threat equal to smoking.”
Tobacco use has traditionally been among the top preventable causes of death both in the U.S. and globally; however, smoking rates are consistently declining:
- Since the first report by the U.S. Surgeon General on the health risks of smoking, the age-adjusted prevalence among men dropped from 51% in 1965 to 15.6% in 2018, and from 34% in women in 1965 to 12.0% in 2018.
- Currently, 11.5% of U.S. adults smoke cigarettes.
- About 28% of high school students reported using any tobacco product in 2023, down from around 34% in 2022.
- In 2023, 12.6% of high school students indicated current tobacco use, compared to 16.5% in 2022.
- Youth e-cigarette use has also shown a decline, with 10% of high schoolers reporting current use in 2023, a decrease from 14.1% in 2022.
“One encouraging trend we’ve observed is the reduction in high cholesterol rates, which can be attributed to increased awareness about dietary and lifestyle choices affecting cholesterol, along with improved access to medications and clinical management,” Churchwell noted. “Recent research has unveiled several new treatment options to tackle the growing issue of obesity, and we anticipate further advancements in this field.”
However, both Kazi and Churchwell emphasize that saving lives will require more than just medical interventions.
“The variations in risk and health outcomes necessitate tailored interventions for high-risk communities,” Kazi emphasized. “Simply discovering new therapies isn’t sufficient; we must also ensure these therapies are accessible and affordable for those who need them most.”
“Heart disease was once seen as an inevitable death sentence, but with advancements in clinical diagnosis and treatment, individuals can now live longer, healthier lives following a cardiovascular event,” remarked Churchwell, who serves as an associate clinical professor at Yale School of Medicine and adjunct associate professor at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. “Medical therapies to treat risk factors are vital; however, it’s essential to prevent these risks from arising in the first place, ensuring people maintain their health throughout their lifetime. Achieving this relies on a strong focus on early prevention and equitable healthcare access for all.”
This statistics update was produced by a volunteer writing group on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Committee.