Death rates from cardiovascular disease have fallen dramatically — what were the breakthroughs behind this?

Over a century of progress in surgery, drugs, prevention, and emergency response has driven down death rates from heart disease and stroke.

The dramatic decline in cardiovascular deaths shows just how much can change with science, policy, and everyday habits.

Heart disease is still the leading cause of death worldwide, killing around 20 million people globally each year, and this tells us there’s still more to do. And some risks, like obesity and diabetes, have risen in many countries. They remind us that progress can stall or even reverse without more effort.

But new advances are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible even further. 3D heart reconstructions help surgeons plan complex operations more precisely; new valve replacement techniques mean patients can recover faster...

Over a century of progress in surgery, drugs, prevention, and emergency response has driven down death rates from heart disease and stroke.

The dramatic decline in cardiovascular deaths shows just how much can change with science, policy, and everyday habits.

Heart disease is still the leading cause of death worldwide, killing around 20 million people globally each year, and this tells us there’s still more to do. And some risks, like obesity and diabetes, have risen in many countries. They remind us that progress can stall or even reverse without more effort.

But new advances are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible even further. 3D heart reconstructions help surgeons plan complex operations more precisely; new valve replacement techniques mean patients can recover faster without surgery; and newly developed weight loss drugs offer hope for tackling obesity across the population.

The fight against cardiovascular disease isn’t over. Understanding what brought us this far, and seeing continued progress today, tells us that even more is possible. The next chapters in this story are up to us.