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Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health Risks Widespread Among US Adults

lite News Desk 2 min read

At a glance

  • Nearly 90% of US adults have some degree of CKM syndrome
  • Cardiovascular disease deaths declined to 915,973 in 2023
  • About 47.3% of adults had high blood pressure in 2021-2023

Recent updates from the American Heart Association and the CDC highlight the widespread presence of cardiovascular and metabolic health risks in the United States. These findings provide new insight into the prevalence of related conditions and associated mortality rates.

The American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update states that almost nine out of ten adults in the US have some level of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome. The report also indicates that more than 80% of young and middle-aged adults show early signs of this syndrome.

Data from 2023 shows a decrease in deaths from cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and heart failure, with 915,973 recorded deaths compared to 941,652 in 2022. Coronary heart disease deaths also fell to 349,470 in 2023, down from 371,506 the previous year.

Stroke was the underlying cause for 162,639 deaths in 2023, a decrease from 165,393 in 2022. However, between 2013 and 2023, the crude stroke death rate increased by 8.3% among people aged 25 to 34 and by 18.2% among those older than 85.

What the numbers show

  • In 2023, someone in the US died of cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds on average
  • Nearly 29.5 million US adults had diagnosed diabetes in 2021-2023
  • Obesity or severe obesity affected about 50% of adults in 2021-2023
  • Obesity among youth aged 2 to 19 rose from 25.4% to 28.1%

High blood pressure was present in about 47.3% of US adults, or 125.9 million people, during 2021-2023, which is an increase from the previous period. Diagnosed diabetes also rose slightly, with nearly 29.5 million adults affected in the same timeframe.

Obesity or severe obesity was reported in approximately half of US adults between 2021 and 2023, a slight decrease from 51.1% previously. Among youth aged 2 to 19, obesity increased from 25.4% to 28.1%.

According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, between August 2021 and August 2023, 36.4% of adults had no cardiovascular disease risk factors, 34.9% had one, and 28.7% had two or more. The percentage of adults with two or more risk factors has increased since 2013-2014.

The American Heart Association stated that its Life’s Essential 8 framework could prevent up to 40% of annual all-cause and cardiovascular deaths if optimal scores are achieved. The association also reported that individuals with ideal cardiovascular health had a 74% lower risk of cardiovascular events compared to those with poor cardiovascular health.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.

Sources and further reading

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