Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Diseases in the United States to Increase by 2060: New Study

Cardiovascular risk factors and diseases are expected to rise across the United States by the year 2060, according to a new US population study led by the American College of Cardiology. The new research suggests that the disease will likely increase amongst minorities, while decreasing among White persons.

The study says the steep rise will add burden to the US health care system and highlights the urgent need for access to prevention education and treatments, in matters related to preventing future cardiovascular diseases.

The so-called "blood-vascular disease" or "circulatory disease" has been blamed for multiple deaths globally, involving millions of people, especially individuals who belong in the old age group and those who are considered to be high-risk.

Health authorities remind the risk factors for cardiovascular disease are unhealthy diet, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and tobacco use. In addition, recent studies have shown that physiological factors like stress and psychological trauma are also contributing factors to the dangerous health condition later in life.

US Population Study

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In the new paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the US-based researchers analyzed various cardiovascular risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity. In addition, the research team also examined the cardiovascular diseases like ischemic heart disease, heat failure, heart attack, and stroke.

Based on the US population study, all four risk factors mentioned will significantly increase from 2025 to 2060, especially for both male and female between the ages 18 and 79 belonging to the different ethnic groups like Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, and other.

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Data Sample and Methodology

Before arriving with their conclusion, the team used data from the 2020 US Census Bureau report covering the years 2025 to 2060.

Then they combined the figures with the prevailing cardiovascular risk factors or disease in the country from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, as mentioned by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Amongst the risk factors, the results yield that diabetes (39.3% increase to 55 million people) and dyslipidemia (27.6% to 126 million) have the largest percentage increase. They were followed by hypertension and obesity.

Meanwhile, the results also showed stroke (33.8% to 15 million people) and heart failure (33.4% to 13 million) have the highest projected increases. Ischemic heart disease and heart attack were at the bottom of the list, as summarized by the AAAS.

Cardiovascular Diseases

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers cardiovascular diseases to be the leading cause of fatalities worldwide, estimating that 17.9 million people died from the lethal 'set of diseases' in 2019.

The figure is equivalent to 32% of all the global deaths that time, and 85% of the deaths died from heart attack and stroke.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one person dies from cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds in the US. In 2020, approximately 697,000 people died from heart disease in the US.