The Million Hearts Initiative—Targeting Key Drivers of Cardiovascular Mortality from a Medical Specialty Society Perspective

Abstract

• Blood pressure control remains elusive for many hypertensive people: 33.5 % of adults who are 20 years or older in the US have high blood pressure; 80 % are aware of their condition but less than half have their condition under control. • Decades of public health campaigns have produced considerable successes, but tobacco-use rates could be reduced still further: 23.1 % of men and 18.1 % of women are cigarette-smokers. More alarmingly, 19.5 % of students in grades 9–12 report current tobacco use. • A significant minority of US adults have high cholesterol: 15 % of people who are 20 years or older have total serum cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dl or higher. • Diabetes, a key risk factor, already afflicts many people, and there is the potential for this population to grow significantly: 8 % of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus; 36.8 % of adults are pre-diabetic. • Lastly, more than 67 % of adults in the US are overweight.