Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of death in the U.S. and the rate did not change in 2017, and the leading cause of infant death continues to be congenital malformations, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics data brief published online Nov. 29.

Researchers looked at the 2,813,503 deaths documented in the National Vital Statics System from 2016 to 2017 and found that the top 10 leading causes of death – cardiovascular disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer disease, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, kidney disease and suicide – remained unchanged from 2016, and accounted for 74 percent of all deaths in the U.S. in 2017. The rate for cardiovascular disease and kidney disease "did not change significantly," the rate of cancer decreased, while the remaining 7 causes of death increased.

In addition, the top 10 leading causes of infant death in the U.S. in 2017 accounted for 67.8 percent of all infant deaths. The leading causes also remained the same but several causes shifted rants.

Further, life expectancy at birth decreased 0.1 year – from 78.7 years in 2016 to 78.6 years in 2017, and the age-adjusted death rate increased by 0.4 percent from 728.8 deaths per 100,000 standard population in 2016 to 731.9 in 2017.

Commenting on the report, C. Michael Valentine, MD, FACC, president of the ACC, said "Despite the grim news that heart disease remains the No. 1 killer in America and that progress in reducing those deaths has declined in recent years, we will not accept this as our normal. Nearly half of all Americans have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or smoke – some of the leading risk factors for heart disease – but these are often either preventable or modifiable risk factors that we can all work to reduce. While we are constantly finding innovative ways to treat existing heart disease, we must continue to focus our efforts on preventing heart disease. It will require efforts from more than just the medical community, but from communities and governments as well. Saving our hearts is a problem we must solve together."

Clinical Topics: Congenital Heart Disease and Pediatric Cardiology, Dyslipidemia, Prevention, CHD and Pediatrics and Prevention, CHD and Pediatrics and Quality Improvement, Lipid Metabolism, Nonstatins, Hypertension, Sleep Apnea

Keywords: Infant, Infant, Newborn, Risk Factors, Cause of Death, Life Expectancy, Alzheimer Disease, Smoke, Influenza, Human, Infant Mortality, Death, Diabetes Mellitus, Stroke, Hypertension, Heart Diseases, Cholesterol, Cardiovascular Diseases, Suicide, Pneumonia, Kidney Diseases, Neoplasms

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