CDC: 1 in 4 Deaths Related to Cardiovascular Disease Can be Prevented

More than a quarter of deaths that occur in the United States from stroke and heart diseases every year can be prevented, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

With heart diseases being the leading cause of death in the United States, a latest Vital Signs report from CDC states that in 2010 more than 200,000 preventable deaths from heart disease and stroke occurred out of which half were people younger than 65 years of age.

One of the leading causes of death in both men and women in the U.S. is heart disease and every 33 second someone dies from cardiovascular disease in the country. Compared to the deadly disease AIDS, more people die of heart disorders across the world. It is predicted that this year more than 920,000 Americans will suffer from heart attack. There are nearly 7.9 million Americans surviving currently after a heart attack.

The latest report focuses on preventable deaths from heart disease and stroke in people below the age of 75 years, which could have been avoided by adopting effective public health measures, medical care as well as necessary lifestyle changes.

One in three Americans dies from cardiovascular diseases and this can be managed or prevented by addressing the risk factors. The number of preventable deaths occurring in people of ages 65-74 has dramatically declined but the number remains constant in people below the age of 65 years.  When compared to women, men are twice more likely to die from preventable heart disease and stroke, similarly compared to whites, blacks are at a higher risk of dying from preventable heart disease and stroke.

"Despite progress against heart disease and stroke, hundreds of thousands of Americans die each year from these preventable causes of death," CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H, said in a news release.  "Many of the heart attacks and strokes that will kill people in the coming year could be prevented by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol and stopping smoking."

From 2001-2010, the overall rate of preventable deaths from heart disease and stroke dropped by 30 percent. The highest avoidable death rates in 2010 were concentrated primarily in the southern Appalachian region and much of Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.

Through this finding, CDC urges doctors and other health care providers to encourage patients to take up healthy eating habits, cut down on smoking, indulge in more physical activity, maintain healthy weight and take medicines as directed. They believe that these factors can save more lives.