As heart attack deaths decline, chronic heart disease is on the rise

Food for thought! As we manage one disease/disorder with better medical treatments, other diseases/disorders have a better chance to evolve with longer lifespans.

We defeat one and extend the human lifespan, but others emerge. Seems to be a familiar pattern of the history of medicine. A part of the cycle of life.

Maybe with machine learning & AI we have a chance to beat this pattern.

And then there our lifestyle choices affecting our lifetime health.

"... Roughly half of heart disease deaths now are caused by non-ischemic conditions. Among the more common causes are heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, arrhythmias, and heart disease from pulmonary conditions. Some of the increase may be attributed to better diagnostics and changing disease definitions under the International Classification of Disease codes.

But it also reflects a rise in risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and physical inactivity, the researchers said. An estimated 50% of adults have diabetes or pre-diabetes, and 40% have obesity.

The U.S. population is also older – life expectancy in 1970 was 70.9 years compared with 77.5 years in 2022 – giving people more years to accumulate chronic conditions. ..."

As heart attack deaths decline, chronic heart disease is on the rise | Stanford Report "Since 1970, heart attack deaths have fallen by nearly 90%, driven by advances in treatment and public health efforts. But research also reveals a rise in deaths from other heart conditions, including heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, and arrhythmias."