View article

Each year the American Heart Association, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies, brings together the most up-to-date statistics on heart disease, stroke, and their risk factors and presents them in its Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update. The Statistical Update is a valuable resource for researchers, clinicians, healthcare policy makers, media, the lay public, and many others who seek the best national data available on disease and risk factor prevalence, disease incidence, and mortality rates in a single document. This year’s edition includes several areas not covered in previous editions. Below are a few highlights from this year’s Update in the areas of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, control of risk factors, kidney disease, and medical care.