Between 1990 and 2019, fewer people died from heart disease in the U.S. In 1990, heart disease caused 397,623 deaths, but by 2019, it was 236,953.
Even though Americans got a bit older on average during these years, there were still fewer heart-related deaths.
What Went Well, What Didn’t
Good News: More women and men survived heart diseases. The drop in numbers was steady every year. Plus, fewer Americans smoked in 2019 (14%) than in 1990 (26%).
Worry Points: But since 2011, this decline has slowed down. Young people born after 1980 seem to be at a higher risk.
Obesity, which can cause heart problems, went up a lot. In 1990, 12% of Americans were obese, but by 2019, it shot up to 43%. People drank a bit more alcohol too.
A study team noticed that these changes were similar to patterns seen in stroke deaths. They believe that if people stopped smoking, drinking too much, and becoming obese, many heart disease deaths could be avoided.
Making Changes for a Healthier Heart There have been some good changes, like fewer people smoking.
There are also medicines that help lower bad cholesterol in the blood and better tests to find out if someone has heart disease. If these diseases are found early, they can be treated before they cause more harm.
Cande Ananth, the main researcher, and his team looked at a lot of data to understand these changes. Their aim? To find out which people are most at risk and how to help them.
They believe that just testing everyone might be too expensive and not very useful. Instead, they want to focus on those most at risk.
Their next step? Looking at heart disease risks in pregnant women. They hope to use their findings to help keep hearts healthy across the country.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and scientists find how COVID-19 damages the heart.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about Aspirin linked to higher risk of heart failure, and results showing this drug could reduce heart disease, fatty liver, obesity.
The study was published in American Heart Journal.
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