Heart Disease Leading Cause of Death in US

Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the most recent statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The most recent data is actually the 2014 numbers, but it shines a light on what areas of health we should focus on if we want to live longer. The numbers also suggest that we’re off to a good start, as the death rate in the US hit an all-time low in 2014, with an age-adjusted death rate of 724.6 deaths per 100,000 people, down 1 percent from 2013.

Top 10 Causes of Death in the US

Here’s a look at the top ten causes of death here in America.

1. Heart disease (23.4% of all deaths)

2. Cancer (22.5%)

3. Chronic lower respiratory diseases (5.6%)

4. Accidents (unintentional injuries; 5.2%)

5. Cerebrovascular diseases (5.1%)

6. Alzheimer’s disease (3.6%)

7. Diabetes mellitus (2.9%)

8. Influenza and pneumonia (2.1%)

9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis (1.8%)

10. Intentional self-harm (suicide; 1.6%)

Combined, the top ten causes of death account for 74 percent of all deaths in the United States.

Other findings from the data include:

• Unintentional injuries were the third leading cause of death for males and the sixth leading cause for females. It was also the top cause of death for people between the ages of 1- and 44-years-old.

• Cancer was the leading cause of death in people between the ages of 45 and 64.

• HIV/AIDS went from the sixth leading cause of death in males to the eighth leading cause of death in males last year.

• Life expectancy across all ethnicity sits at 78.8 years. Life expectancy rose for black males, non-Hispanic black males and Hispanic males and females. It fell for Hispanic white females.

• Infant mortality rate fell 2.3 percent to a historically low rate of 5.82 deaths per 1,000 live births.

We’ve blogged about a lot of the causes of death on our blog before. To read some of our previous blogs on the causes of death, click on the terms: Heart Disease, Cancer, Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease, Unintentional Injuries and Cerebrovascular Disease.