The 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update provides the latest essential data on cardiovascular risk factors and conditions affecting US and global health.
The 2026 AHA Statistics Update serves as a comprehensive resource for the latest epidemiological data on cardiovascular disease, stroke, and associated risk factors.
BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association annually reports the most up-to-date statistics related to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular risk factors, including core health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and obesity) and health factors (cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose control, and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome) that contribute to cardiovascular health. The 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update presents the latest data on a range of major clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions (including stroke, brain health, complications of pregnancy, kidney disease, congenital heart disease, rhythm disorders, sudden cardiac arrest, subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, valvular disease, venous thromboembolism, and peripheral artery disease) and the associated outcomes (including quality of care, procedures, and economic costs). METHODS: The American Heart Association, through its Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee, continuously monitors and evaluates sources of data on heart disease and stroke in the United States and globally to provide the most current information available in the annual Statistics Update with review of published literature through the year before writing. The 2026 Statistics Update is the product of a full year’s worth of effort in 2025 by dedicated volunteer clinicians and scientists, committed government professionals, and American Heart Association staff members. This year’s edition includes a new chapter on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, as well as an expanded chapter on tobacco and nicotine use and exposure. RESULTS: Each of the chapters in the Statistics Update focuses on a different topic related to heart disease and stroke statistics. CONCLUSIONS: The Statistics Update represents a critical resource for the lay public, policymakers, media professionals, clinicians, health care administrators, researchers, health advocates, and others seeking the best available data on these factors and conditions.
“The good news is that, overall, fewer people are dying from any cause, and death rates are improving as life expectancy continues to rebound after the COVID‑19 pandemic.”
Annual report always generates widespread media and policy discussion; 2026 edition highlights concerning aortic stenosis and CKM syndrome trends.
Palaniappan et al. (2026) studied this question. The 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update provides the latest essential data on cardiovascular risk factors and conditions affecting US and global health.