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.