A new study has found that while fewer people in the US are dying from heart attacks today, deaths from long-term heart problems like high blood pressure and heart failure are on the rise.
Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the study looked at more than 50 years of heart disease data and found that heart attack deaths have dropped by a massive 89 per cent. However, the number of people dying from chronic heart issues has doubled.
“It seems the burden of heart disease mortality is shifting,” said Dr. Sara King, the lead author and an internal medicine resident at Stanford University. “Heart attack deaths are going down, but chronic conditions like heart failure are becoming more common and more deadly,” she further added.
What the study found
Researchers reviewed national death records from 1970 to 2022. They looked at adults aged 25 and older and tracked deaths from all types of heart disease, including specific causes like heart attacks, high blood pressure, heart failure, and rhythm disorders (like arrhythmia).
The findings show a clear pattern:
- Overall heart disease deaths dropped from 761 per 100,000 people in 1970 to 258 in 2022 — a 66 per cent decrease.
- Heart attack deaths dropped from 354 per 100,000 to just 40 — an 89 per cent decrease.
But at the same time:
- Heart failure deaths rose from 13 to 32 per 100,000.
- High blood pressure-related deaths doubled from 16 to 33.
- Heart rhythm disorder deaths jumped by 450 per cent, from 2 to 11 per 100,000.
What’s behind the drop in heart attack deaths?
So, what’s driving the good news on heart attack survival? Experts credit a combination of better awareness, early detection, and modern medicine.
“Since the 1960s, tools like CPR, defibrillators, and emergency heart surgeries have saved many lives,” said Dr. Yu Chen, professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “Today, we also have better imaging, stents, statins, and faster emergency care.”
People are also smoking less, which reduces the risk of sudden heart attacks. More people are taking cholesterol-lowering and blood pressure medicines as well.
So why are other heart deaths rising?
While people are surviving heart attacks more than ever before, they are also living longer with heart disease. And that’s where the challenge begins.
“More Americans today have obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure,” said Dr. Chen. “These long-term problems increase the risk of heart failure and other chronic heart conditions.”
Thanks to better heart care, life expectancy has risen from 71 years in 1970 to 77.5 years in 2022. But longer life also means more people are developing heart rhythm problems or heart failure over time, and these are proving harder to treat and more deadly in the long run.
What needs to change?
According to experts, solving the chronic heart disease crisis will take more than just treating heart attacks. We need to rethink how we manage and prevent heart problems throughout a person’s lifetime.
“It’s saddening to see chronic heart disease deaths rise even though we’ve made progress with heart attacks,” said Dr. Joan Briller, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
She believes more research is needed, especially focusing on women, minorities, and other underserved populations that are often overlooked in heart studies.
“We must consider the differences in how men and women experience heart disease,” Dr. Briller said. “We also need stronger education around healthy lifestyles and better access to care for everyone.”
She adds that tackling root causes like poor diet, lack of exercise, social stress, and healthcare access will be key to reversing this deadly trend.
Even with today’s medical advances, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in many countries. But this study offers both a warning and a way forward.
While we’ve won big battles against heart attacks, the war against chronic heart problems is far from over.
Doctors say knowing your numbers — blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, along with regular checkups, a balanced diet, exercise, and quitting smoking, can go a long way in protecting your heart.
