Long-term gains in cardiovascular disease mortality are slowing or reversing as gaps in care quality and health disparities persist, a recent Boston-based Harvard Medical School study found.
The study, published in JACC, synthesized population-based surveys, clinical registries, administrative datasets and vital statistics data from multiple national sources from 2009 to 2023 to create Harvard’s inaugural “Cardiovascular Statistics in the United States, 2026 | JACC Stats.” The report examines cardiovascular risk factors and the five conditions that account for most cardiovascular deaths.
Here are five key findings:
1. One in 2 adults now meet the criteria for hypertension, but rates of treatment and control have remained stagnant for 15 years. Hypertension-related deaths have nearly doubled in the last 20 years.
2. Diabetes among adults rose from about 12% to 14% over the study period, with the steepest increase among low-income and Black populations. About half of adults with diabetes had adequate blood sugar control. Glycemic control worsened among adults ages 20 to 44 between 2021 and 2023.
3. The majority of high-risk adults do not achieve guideline-recommended targets for LDL cholesterol, despite proven reduction strategies.
4. Coronary heart disease mortality fell by about 50% between 2000 and 2020, and smoking rates declined.
5. Heart attack hospitalizations among adults ages 25 to 64 have risen since 2008.
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