Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. However, new research shows that heart disease mortality rates over the past 50 years have decreased by 66% in American adults aged 25 and over. Better yet, heart attack deaths have been reduced by almost 90%.
“Over the last 50 years, our understanding of heart disease, its causes, and how we handle it has evolved quite a bit,” said Dr. Sarah King, a second-year internal medicine resident at Stanford University School of Medicine in California.
“There have been great progress in helping people survive early acute heart events that were once considered death sentences,” King said in a statement.
Unfortunately, there is a flip side to that positive news. In the United States, deaths from all other types of heart disease, including arrhythmia, heart failure, and hypertensive heart disease, increased by 81%, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Dr Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness for National Jewish Health in Denver, says it’s important to keep both numbers in perspective.
“The chances of death from a heart attack lately are relatively low compared to where it was, but the chances of a serious injury from a heart attack are still high,” said Freeman, who was not involved in the study.
“You may develop heart failure. Your heart can’t pump enough blood to meet your body’s needs and you’re always short of breath,” he said. “Or maybe you’re taking a lot of medications because of blood pressure, fluid retention, or cholesterol, and you don’t feel the best you have.
“Being alive is one thing. Being alive is another.”
This study analyzed government data on cardiac deaths between 1970 and 2022. In 1970, heart attacks were the cause of 54% of all deaths due to heart problems. By 2022, that number had fallen to 29%.
Death from atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias occurs when electrical impulses in the heart startle and cause irregular heartbeats or “flap-ups” in the chest, but was rare in the 1970s. By 2022, that number had risen to 450%. This is about 4% of all heart disease deaths, the study found.
Heart failure deaths increased by 146% over the same period, while persistent hypertension deaths increased by 106%.
Changes in cardiovascular risk factors contribute to an increase in certain types of heart disease, the study said. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, poor food choices, and physical inertility have skyrocketed over the past 50 years. The prevalence of obesity increased from 15% in 1970 to 40% in 2022, the study found. Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes currently affect almost half of all adults in the United States. Hypertension has increased from 30% in 1978 to nearly 50% in 2022.
Another potential contributor – the aging baby boomer population has reached a time when it is most likely to develop heart disease.
“All of these risk factors contribute to the ongoing burden of heart disease, particularly those associated with heart failure, hypertensive heart disease and arrhythmias,” says Dr. Lhasa Paraniapan, professor of cardiovascular medicine for research at Stanford University School of Medicine.
“The heart disease has not disappeared,” Paraniapan said in a statement. “Now we have to focus on helping people age with a strong and healthy mind by preventing events, and prevention can start as a child.”
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