Heart, Lung, Blood and Sleep Diseases and Disorders in the U.S.

Heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders affect millions of Americans. Many of these disorders, including heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, and COPD, disproportionately affect minority groups. Below are statistics on:

  • Prevalence and mortality of common heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders
  • Aggregate costs of care
  • Healthcare utilization for common heart, lung, and blood conditions

                                             Prevalence of Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Disorders

Heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders are among the most common and potentially fatal conditions affecting Americans. Although heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S., it is more prevalent in men than women until about age 80, when women with heart disease surpass men. Many chronic heart and lung diseases have a higher prevalence in communities of color, largely due to social determinants of health.

 

Top Ten Leading Causes and Number of Deaths in the U.S. (2019)

 

Sources: NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality, CDC

 

Cardiovascular and Lung Disease Prevalence in the U.S.

 

Disease or Condition

Number of Americans affected

Asthma1

25,131,000

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD)2

126,900,000

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)3

10,500,000

Congenital Heart Disease2

2,400,000

Coronary Heart Disease4

20,100,000

Heart Failure4

6,000,000

Hypertension4

121,500,000

Sickle Cell Disease5

~100,000

Short Sleep Duration
(<7 hours per night)6

90,838,000

Sources: 12019 CDC National Asthma Data (link).

2Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—Update 2021 (link); CVD includes persons with one of the following: CHD, heart failure, stroke, and hypertension. Data collection was limited to adults ≥ 20 years old.

32019 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS); constitutes 4.2% of the U.S. population ≥ 18 years old.

4National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018; data limited to adults ≥ 20 years old. Hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mm Hg or said “yes” to taking hypertension or was told on two occasions of having hypertension.

5Sickle Cell Disease Data & Statistics, CDC (link).

6Sleep and Sleep Disorders Data & Statistics, CDC (link); constitutes 35.2% of the U.S. population ≥ 18 years

 

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease in the U.S. by Age and Sex

  

Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018; these data include coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, and hypertension. 

Hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mm Hg or said “yes” to taking hypertension or was told on two occasions of having hypertension.

Related Content: Heart and Vascular Diseases

 

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults (≥ 20 years old) in the U.S. by Sex and Ethnicity/Race

 

Prevalence of Heart Failure in Adults (≥ 20 years old) in the U.S. by Gender and Ethnicity/Race

Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018

 

Prevalence of Hypertension in Adults (≥ 20 years old) in the U.S. by Sex and Ethnicity/Race

 

Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018. Hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mm Hg or said “yes” to taking hypertension or was told on two occasions of having hypertension.

 

Prevalence of cardiovascular diseases by ethnicity and race (as % of each population)

 

Disease

Non-Hispanic Blacks and African Americans

Non-Hispanic Whites

Non-Hispanic Asians

Hispanics or Latinos

All Cardiovascular Disease (including hypertension)

59.5%

47.9%

47.0%

47.8%

Cardiovascular Disease (excluding hypertension)

9.7%

11.0%

6.1%

7.4%

Coronary Heart Disease

7.0%

7.3%

4.0%

6.6%

Heart Failure

3.5%

1.9%

1.2%

2.0%

Hypertension

58.1%

45.9%

46.4%

46.0%

Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018. Hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 130 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 80 mm Hg or said “yes” to taking hypertension or was told on two occasions of having hypertension.

Related Content: Health Disparities and Inequities

 

Prevalence of Asthma in the U.S. by Age and Ethnicity/Race

 

Source: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2017-2019

 

Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Adults (≥ 18 years old) in the U.S. by Ethnicity/Race

 

Source: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2019

 

Prevalence of asthma and COPD by ethnicity and race (as % of the U.S. population)

 

Disease

Non-Hispanic Blacks and African Americans

Non-Hispanic Whites

Non-Hispanic Asians

Non-Hispanic American Indians or Alaska Natives

Hispanics or Latinos

Asthma in children (<18 yrs)1

13.5%

6.4%

3.7%

8.2%

7.5%

Asthma in adults (>18 yrs)1

9.7%

8.1%

3.8%

11.6%

6.1%

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (≥ 18 years)2

3.7%

4.6%

1.3%

7.6%

3.0%

Sources: 1National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2017-2019; 2National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2019

Related Content: Lung Diseases; Health Disparities and Inequities

Economic Burden of Disease Data

Care and treatment for heart and lung disorders cost Americans billions of dollars each year.

 

2017-18 Health Condition Expenditures: Total Annual Average

 

Source: Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2017-2018. 

 

2017-18 Healthcare Visits: Total Annual Average Direct Cost by Condition and Type

 

Source: Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2017-2018. 

 

2017-18 Expenditures: Total Annual Average by Sex and Condition

 

Source: Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2017-2018. 

 

2017-18 Expenditures: Total Annual Average by Age and Condition

Source:  Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2017-2018. 

Healthcare Utilization Data

Heart, lung, and blood conditions result in millions of hospitalizations and emergency room visits each year.

Total Number of Hospital Inpatient Discharges for Various Heart, Lung, and Blood Conditions in 2017

Source: HCUPnet, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville,MD.

*Heart failure I50. Code First. Heart Failure due to hypertension (I11.0). Heart Failure due to hypertension with chronic kidney disease (I13). 

Certain conditions have both an underlying etiology and multiple body system manifestations due to the underlying etiology. For such conditions, ICD-10-CM has a coding convention that requires the underlying condition be sequenced first followed by the manifestation. Wherever such a combination exists there is a "use additional code" note at the etiology code, and a "code first" note at the manifestation code. 

These instructional notes indicate the proper sequencing order of the codes, etiology followed by manifestation. 

Total Number of Emergency Department Visits for Various Heart, Lung, and Blood Conditions in 2016

Source: HCUPnet, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. 

Last Updated August 7, 2020