Recent Trends in Cardiovascular Mortality in the United States and Public Health Goals

Abstract

With the exception of the flu pandemic years of 1918-1920, heart disease (HD) has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1910,¹ with cancer and stroke among the 5 leading causes of death every year since 1924.² From 2000 to 2010, age-adjusted mortality decreased 30% for HD and 36% for stroke, but cancer mortality declined only 13%.³ Heart disease mortality approached that of cancer, suggesting that cancer might soon replace HD as the leading cause of death.