Stroke Now Ranks Fourth as a Leading Cause of Death in the US

 Does your stroke hospital even know what their 30-day death rate is? Or ARE THEY COMPLETELY FUCKING INCOMPETENT IN THAT?

Here is your business101 requirements. 

“What's measured, improves.” So said management legend and author Peter F. Drucker  

And still these people incompetently don't know that stroke has been called neurological disease by the WHO since 2006 not cardiovascular, once again proving our medical 'professionals' don't keep up to date in their field!  That's how stupidly incompetent the AHA/ASA is!

Stroke Now Ranks Fourth as a Leading Cause of Death in the US

Stroke is now the fourth leading cause of death among US adults, with one person dying about every 3 minutes, the latest data from the American Heart Association (AHA) show.

In 2023, stroke was the underlying cause of 162,639 deaths nationwide, down slightly from 165,393 in 2022, when stroke accounted for about 5% of all US deaths.

Although overall stroke deaths declined for the first time in several years, age-specific trends were concerning. Among adults aged 25-34, the crude stroke death rate increased by roughly 8% between 2013 and 2023, reversing a period of stability from 2012 to 2022.

There was also an 18% increase in the crude stroke death rate among adults older than 85 years, signaling heightened vulnerability at both ends of the age spectrum.

While it’s “encouraging to see that total deaths from heart disease and stroke declined, the fact remains that heart disease and stroke continue to take the lives of too many of our loved ones each and every day,” AHA President Stacey E. Rosen, MD, of Northwell Health in New York City, said in a statement. 

The AHA’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update was published online on January 21 in Circulation.

What’s Driving the Risk?

Heart disease continues to exact the largest death toll in the US, remaining the nation’s leading cause of death. It accounts for 22% of all deaths and claims one life every 34 seconds.

In 2023, there were 915,973 deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) — which includes heart disease and stroke — down from 941,652 in 2022. The age-adjusted CVD death rate fell to 218.3 per 100,000 people in 2023, down from 224.3 per 100,000 the year before.

Stroke and CVD together account for 27% of all US deaths, surpassing the combined death toll from cancer and accidental injuries, the nation’s second- and third-leading causes of death.

“The good news is that, overall, fewer people are dying from any cause, and death rates are improving as life expectancy continues to rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Latha Palaniappan, MD, chair of the statistics update writing committee, said in the statement. 

“However, about half of all US adults continue to have some form of cardiovascular disease, and persistent increases in conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity continue to drive the risk,” she said.

Those risk factors remain tightly linked to stroke outcomes.

The AHA noted that 47% of US adults (125.9 million) now have high blood pressure, close to 30 million have diabetes, and about half of adults have obesity or severe obesity, with an “alarming” increase in obesity observed in youth aged 2 to 19 years — from about 25% in 2017-2020 to 28% in 2021-2023.

For the first time, the AHA’s statistics update highlights cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, reflecting the strong overlap between heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity.

CKM syndrome is identified by the presence of risk factors including high blood pressure, high triglycerides, abnormal cholesterol, high blood glucose, impaired kidney function, and elevated weight or obesity.

The Impact of Kidney Disease

The data also show that nearly 90% of US adults have some level of CKM syndrome, and more than 80% of young and middle-aged adults show early CKM risk.

“These numbers should ring alarm bells, particularly among young adults, because that’s a snapshot into our future. Overall projections for these health conditions show increases expected on nearly every level in the next few decades,” said Sadiya S. Khan, MD, vice-chair of the statistical update writing group and professor of cardiovascular epidemiology, Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago.

Research has shown that following the AHA’s “Life’s Essential 8” healthy lifestyle guidance can significantly reduce the overall burden of CVD and stroke.

The metric includes four health behaviors (healthy diet, regular physical activity, not smoking, and getting adequate sleep) and four health factors (management of weight, cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure).

A review of 59 studies from 2010 to 2022 showed that individuals with optimal cardiovascular health, as measured by Life’s Essential 8, had a 74% lower risk for cardiovascular events than peers with poor cardiovascular health.

Achieving optimal Life’s Essential 8 scores could prevent up to 40% of annual all-cause and CVD deaths among adults, the AHA noted. 

Research has also shown that better cardiovascular health is associated with better brain health, including younger brain age, less subclinical vascular disease, slower cognitive decline, and reduced risk for dementia.

Yet, data continue to show poor adherence to Life’s Essential 8 measures.

“We know that as much as 80% of heart disease and stroke is preventable with lifestyle changes, and many chronic  chronic health conditions that contribute to poor cardiovascular health are manageable,” Rosen said. “Improving our cardiovascular health(Should be neurological health!) is possible. However, it will take a concerted effort,” she added.