New data released by the American Heart Association has all eyes on heart disease, which remains the most lethal disease in the United States.
The organization published its annual update, the 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update, on Monday, January 27, in the peer-reviewed journal, Circulation. In it, experts warned that heart disease still kills more Americans than any other disease—and its risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure, continue to rise throughout our population.
One of the most alarming statistics cited? Every 34 seconds, someone in the U.S. dies of cardiovascular disease. That's 2,500 people every single day.
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Why Cardiovascular Disease Is So Lethal
As the American Heart Association explains, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which includes heart disease (the #1 killer in the U.S.) and stroke (#5), claims more American lives every year than cancer (#2) and accidental deaths (#3) combined.
The 2025 report shows that, while there has been a leveling out since a major spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, CVD deaths are still on the rise. The latest stats available from 2022 show that there were 941,652 CVD deaths in America, up more than 10,000 from the year prior (931,578 in 2021).
The growing prevalence of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes has experts concerned that this trend may continue if risk factors aren't properly addressed and treated.
"Although we have made a lot of progress against cardiovascular disease in the past few decades, there is a lot more work that remains to be done," wrote American Heart Association volunteer Dhruv S. Kazi, M.D., M.Sc., M.S., FAHA, the head of health economics and associate director of the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
"If recent trends continue, hypertension and obesity will each affect more than 180 million U.S. adults by 2050, whereas the prevalence of diabetes will climb to more than 80 million. And over the same time period, we expect to see a 300% increase health care costs related to cardiovascular disease."
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A Closer Look at the Risk Factors
Obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes were all cited by the American Heart Association as major risk factors for heart disease.
Obesity, experts warn, is the largest concern. "In the update, we noted calculations that found excess weight contributes to as many as 1,300 additional deaths per day in the U.S., nearly 500,000 per year," said American Heart Association volunteer and vice-chair of the Association’s statistical update writing committee Latha P. Palaniappan, M.D., M.S., FAHA, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University.
"It lowers life expectancy by as much as 2.4 years compared to a healthy weight."
Indeed, nearly 72% of U.S. adults have an unhealthy weight (a body mass index greater than or equal to 25), with 42% classified as obese (a BMI greater than or equal to 30). Black women have the highest rate at 57.9%, and as many as 40% of U.S. children are classified as overweight or obese.
When it comes to high blood pressure, nearly 47% of adults have it, with Black women having the highest rate at 58.4%.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, with Hispanic men having the highest rate at 14.5%.
The two bright spots? Tobacco use, overall, has seen declines, with only 11% of adults in the U.S. using the products, and rates of high school students smoking or using e-cigarettes down since 2022.
"Another positive trend over the years has been a reduction in the rates of high cholesterol. That’s likely thanks, in part, to increased awareness about the dietary and lifestyle factors that impact cholesterol levels, along with the availability of medications and better clinical control,” said Keith Churchwell, M.D., FAHA, the volunteer president of the American Heart Association.
Still, Dr. Palaniappan warns that obesity must be taken seriously. "It’s alarming to note that excess weight now costs us even more lives than smoking–as smoking rates have actually fallen in recent years. Being overweight is the new smoking when it comes to health threats."
What You Need to Know to Protect Yourself
Advancements in medications and treatments offer hope to mitigate these risk factors throughout the U.S. Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have revolutionized the treatment of diabetes and obesity. However, they're not widely available to all.
“The disparities in risk and outcomes call for tailored interventions among high-risk populations,” Dr. Kazi said. “Simply discovering breakthrough therapies isn’t going to be enough–we have to ensure that these therapies are accessible and affordable to people who need them most.”
Churchwell agreed that stopping "these risk factors in their tracks" and keeping people healthy throughout their whole lives is the best way to prevent CVD from taking more American lives.
Luckily, there are plenty of well-researched and science-backed methods you can use to reduce your risk of heart disease, such as adopting a heart-healthy diet, getting active, prioritizing sleep, and mitigating stress.
For the best and most personalized advice, consult with your doctor.
