The disease

Every year, more than 12 million people throughout the world die of a heart attack or a stroke. According to the American Heart Association, approximately one in three adults has some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD), representing over 71 million Americans!

Since 1900, CVD has been the No. 1 killer in the US every year but 1918! CVD claims more lives each year in the developed countries than the next four leading causes of death combined (cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents, and diabetes mellitus).

Most people think that they are diseases of middle-aged men. The truth is that both men and women suffer from heart attacks and strokes. CVD affects the poor as well as the rich.

Risk factors are well known and some of them have declined in the population over the past 30 years (high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking). But others, like diabetes and overweight are on the rise and account for a large part of the cause of the disease.

In 2006, CVD will cost over $400 billion to the society in the US alone.

This document had been prepared by: Montréal International