“Cardiovascular diseases — the broad term for conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels — are still the leading cause of death worldwide. But the story reflects a remarkable and often overlooked fact: the risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases has fallen dramatically in recent decades.

In the United States alone, the age-standardized death rate from cardiovascular disease has fallen by three-quarters since 1950. This means that for people of the same age, the annual risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is now just one-quarter what it was in 1950.

This progress was built on decades of biomedical research, surgical advances, public health efforts, and lifestyle changes, which means that far fewer people die from sudden strokes or heart attacks. If they do, it happens much later, after they’ve lived longer and healthier lives.”

From Our World in Data.