JACC released its inaugural Cardiovascular Statistics 2026 report covering a wide spectrum of major CV risk factors and conditions, and despite the medical advancements in the last ten years, it’s clear we still have a lot of work left to do.
- The report covers five risk factors and six conditions that account for most cardiovascular deaths and disability.
- It is meant to serve as a comprehensive snapshot of CV health in the U.S. to inform patients, clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and the public.
As part of its process, JACC synthesized data from multiple national sources and evaluated trends in disease epidemiology, quality of care, and morbidity and mortality across risk factors and conditions.
When it came to CV risk factors, the report focused on each one’s prevalence from 2009-2023 and found that…
- Half of all Americans have hypertension.
- Diabetes rose steadily, with only half of diabetics achieving glycemic control.
- Obesity reached epidemic proportions (>40% of adults).
- The majority of high-risk adults do not achieve LDL guideline targets.
- Smoking declined substantially in the past 15 years (-5.8%).
For cardiovascular conditions, JACC focused on the trend and impact for six of the most common diseases and found…
- Coronary artery disease prevalence declined for 25 years, then began rising in 2019, though CAD mortality decreased by 50% in the same period.
- Acute MI hospitalizations went from 3 per 1,000 in 2004 to 2.3 per 1,000 by 2010, remaining stable since.
- Approximately 6.7M U.S. adults have HF, and HF-related mortality has risen since 2011.
- Lower extremity PAD is common, underdiagnosed, affecting 1 in 14 adults.
- Stroke affects nearly 7.8M U.S. adults, and accounted for ~160k deaths in 2023.
So what to do with this behemoth amount of data?
- Prevalence data can help the broader CV societies and policymakers prioritize public health initiatives.
- The report could also help unite the American healthcare system across these broad cardiovascular problems due to how interconnected the risks and conditions are.
The Takeaway
You can’t fix what you don’t know about, so the Cardiovascular Statistics 2026 report’s biggest benefit is its wealth of information, and as JACC’s Editor-in-Chief, Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, wrote, “The data tell a story—but what we do next will define its course.”
