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Article: Cardiovascular Diseases
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Public Health
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
Cardiovascular disease is a general diagnostic category consisting of several separate diseases of the heart and circulatory system. Cardiovascular diseases have been the major health problem and the leading cause of death in the United States for several decades. Despite impressive and sustained declines in the mortality rates from these diseases, the magnitude of the problem is still staggering. In 1997 alone, nearly 1 million people died of cardiovascular disease, which was about 40 percent of all deaths. The two most important components are coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, with 460,390 dying of coronary heart disease and 158,060 dying of ...