Heart Facts
- An adult heart is about the size of two intertwined fists.
- Each day an average heart beats 100,000 times and pumps 2,000 gallons of blood.
- During a lifetime, the heart will pump one million barrels of blood.
- A heart will beat 2.5 billion times in an 80-year life.
- The body contains 60,000 miles of blood vessels.
- Every year since 1900 (with the exception of 1918), heart disease has killed more Americans than any other disease.
- Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of men and women in the United States.
- Heart disease kills more Americans than all forms of cancer combined.
- 1 out of every 5 deaths in the United Stated is the result of coronary heart disease.
- More than 40% of African American adults have cardiovascular disease.
- 1.2 million people per year will experience a heart attack.
- 38 percent of people who experience a heart attack will die as a result.
- About 7.9 million Americans have survived a heart attack.
- 13 million Americans have coronary artery disease.
- 50% of men and 64% of women who die suddenly of heart disease have no prior symptoms.
- Normal blood pressure in adults is 120/80 mm Hg or less.
- More than 65 million Americans older than age 20 have high blood pressure.
- 72 million American have high blood pressure.
- 66% of Americans are overweight or obese.
- The No. 1 preventable cause of heart disease is cigarette smoking.
- More than 300,000 Americans per year die as a result of sudden cardiac arrest.
- About 95% of sudden cardiac arrest patients die before reaching the hospital.
- CPR can double or triple a sudden cardiac arrest patient’s chance of survival.
