Over a century of advancements in surgery, drugs, prevention, and emergency response have significantly reduced death rates from cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the United States. Historically, heart disease was a mystery, with middle-aged adults often suffering without warning. In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died from a massive brain hemorrhage due to uncontrolled high blood pressure and heart disease, which doctors could not treat. Today, pills can be used to reduce blood pressure within weeks, and hypertension, often known as “the silent killer,” is routinely diagnosed and treated. In the United States alone, the age-standardized death rate from cardiovascular disease has fallen by three-quarters since 1950, indicating that the annual risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is now just one-quarter what it was in 1950. This progress was built on biomedical research, surgical advances, public health efforts, and lifestyle changes, resulting in fewer people dying from sudden strokes or heart attacks.
The dramatic decrease in death rates from cardiovascular disease can be attributed to advancements in medical technology. Thuy 629
