A Few Unpleasant Facts About Atherosclerotic Arterial Disease in the United States and the World
Heart disease continues to be the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States. The majority of these patients die as a result of atherosclerosis involving the heart and cardiovascular system. Atherosclerosis is a disease that is associated with living in a modern, industrialized nation. When countries such as China rapidly acquire this lifestyle, the incidence of atherosclerotic vascular disease increases strikingly. In the year 2002, approximately 700,000 individuals in the United States (29% of all deaths in the United States) died of heart disease. The projected cost for the immense burden of heart disease in the United States during 2006 was between $143 and $258 billion for health care services, medications, and lost productivity. Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease is now the most common cause of death in the entire world.
Not surprisingly, risk factors for the development of atherosclerotic disease are widespread in the United States and in other resource-rich, technically advanced countries. Indeed, between the years 1999 and 2000, approximately 30% of Americans aged 20 years or more were diagnosed with hypertension or were taking antihypertensive medications.
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–Joseph S. Alpert, MD (Editor-in-Chief, The American Journal of Medicine)
–This article originally appeared in the September 2012 issue of The American Journal of Medicine
