TUESDAY, Jan. 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Heart disease and stroke combined account for more than one-quarter of all deaths in the United States, according to a report published online Jan. 21 in Circulation.
Latha P. Palaniappan, M.D., from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and colleagues presented the latest data on major clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions and associated outcomes.
The authors note that heart disease remains the leading cause of death (22 percent) in the United States and stroke has moved to the fourth leading cause (5.3 percent). In 2023, heart disease and stroke combined accounted for more than one-quarter of all deaths in the United States. Cardiovascular diseases, including all types of heart disease and stroke, account for more deaths than all forms of cancer and accidental deaths, which are the second and third causes of death, combined. Overall deaths from heart disease and stroke are continuing to decline, with fewer deaths and modest improvements in the age-adjusted death rate. However, the prevalence of health conditions that contribute to stroke and overall cardiovascular disease increased from 2017-2020 to 2021-2023, with increases in the prevalence of high blood pressure (47.3 versus 46.7 percent), diabetes (29.5 versus 29.3 million U.S. adults), and obesity and severe obesity among youth aged 2 to 19 years (25.4 to 28.1 percent). Nearly 90 percent of U.S. adults have some level of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, and more than 80 percent of young and middle-aged adults show early risk.
"We hope this information provides an impetus and our programs and resources serve as a guide for communities to unite for change and for individuals to take personal action," Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., president of the American Heart Association, said in a statement.