Program Activities

	Factors which put people at increased risk for cardiovascular diseases include: • High Blood Pressure • High Blood Cholesterol • Tobacco Use • Physical Inactivity • Poor Nutrition • Overweight / obesity • Diabetes

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), principally heart disease and stroke, are among the nation's leading killers for both men and women and among all racial and ethnic groups.

• More than 64 million Americans have some form of CVD, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and other conditions.

• Nearly 2,600 Americans die each day of CVDs. That is an average of 1 death every 33 seconds.

• CVDs will cost the nation an estimated $368 billion in 2004, including health expenditures and lost productivity.

Source: American Heart Association, Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2004 Update. Dallas: AHA, 2004.

Until fiscal year 1998, no federal funding had been directed to states to specifically target cardiovascular diseases. Most state funds came through the general Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant. In 1998, CDC received funding for states to develop comprehensive cardiovascular health programs. Currently, 32 states and the District of Columbia receive funding.

CDC's cardiovascular health (CVH) activities in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion include epidemiologic surveillance and research, intervention studies, and public health programs related to cardiovascular health. The CVH program includes activities in the Cardiovascular Health Branch of the Center's Division of Adult and Community Health, as well as activities in the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Office on Smoking and Health, Division of Diabetes Translation, and the Division of Adolescent and School Health. The National Center for Environmental Health carries out laboratory-based activities relevant to cardiovascular disease.

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This page last reviewed September 28, 2004

Department of Health Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Adult and Community Health