Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men in the United States and globally. In 2023, cardiovascular disease killed over 919,000 Americans total, accounting for roughly 1 in every 3 deaths. Men face a disproportionate share of that burden, developing heart disease earlier and dying from it at higher rates than women across nearly every racial and ethnic group.
The Top Causes of Death in Men
Based on the most recent national data from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System, the leading causes of death among males in the U.S. are heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries (accidents). These three account for the largest share of the roughly 1.84 million male deaths recorded in a typical year. Diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and suicide round out the list further down.
The pattern holds worldwide. The World Health Organization ranks ischemic heart disease, the type caused by narrowed arteries supplying the heart, as the top killer of men globally. What shifts across countries is the relative weight of infectious diseases, injuries, and violence compared to the chronic conditions that dominate in wealthier nations.
Heart Disease: Why Men Are Hit Hardest
Heart disease kills men at younger ages than women. Men lose the protective effects of certain hormones earlier, and they tend to accumulate risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and abdominal fat sooner in life. The classic heart attack presenting with crushing chest pain is more common in men, though less obvious symptoms like fatigue and shortness of breath also occur.
The major modifiable risk factors are familiar: smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, excessive alcohol use, obesity, and unmanaged stress. High blood pressure is sometimes called a “silent killer” because it damages arteries for years without symptoms. Many men don’t discover they have it until a cardiac event forces the issue. Regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks, starting in your 20s and becoming more important after 40, are the simplest way to catch problems early.
Cancer in Men: Lung, Prostate, and Colorectal
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in men overall. Among specific cancer types, the ranking is consistent: lung cancer kills the most men, followed by prostate cancer, then colorectal cancer.
Lung cancer’s dominance is tied directly to smoking, though a meaningful number of lung cancer deaths occur in people who never smoked. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men but grows slowly enough that many men live years with it. It becomes deadly when it spreads beyond the prostate before detection. Colorectal cancer has become increasingly common in younger adults, prompting screening guidelines to move the recommended starting age down to 45.
Screening availability varies by cancer type. Low-dose CT scans can catch lung cancer early in heavy smokers. PSA blood tests for prostate cancer remain somewhat controversial because they can lead to overdiagnosis of slow-growing tumors. Colonoscopies are highly effective at preventing colorectal cancer entirely by removing precancerous growths before they turn malignant.
Unintentional Injuries and Poisoning
Accidents are the third leading cause of death in men and the leading cause for younger men. Men die from unintentional injuries at roughly two to three times the rate women do, a gap that has remained stubbornly large for decades. Motor vehicle crashes and drug overdoses are the two biggest contributors.
The poisoning category, which includes drug overdoses, has actually seen a widening gender gap over time. The male-to-female death rate ratio for poisoning increased from 1.60 to 1.81 between the early 1990s and late 2000s, and the opioid crisis has pushed that gap further since. Drowning shows one of the starkest disparities of any injury type, with men dying at more than three times the rate of women. Occupational exposure explains part of the overall gap (men hold more physically dangerous jobs), but behavioral differences in risk-taking also play a significant role.
Suicide: A Hidden Crisis in Men
Suicide doesn’t always appear near the top of overall mortality rankings. It was the eleventh leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2023. But it becomes far more prominent in specific age groups: it’s the second leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 34 and the fourth leading cause for those 35 to 44.
The gender disparity in suicide is stark. Men die by suicide at nearly four times the rate of women, with 22.8 deaths per 100,000 males compared to 5.9 per 100,000 females in 2023. The highest-risk group may surprise you: men aged 75 and older have a suicide rate of 40.7 per 100,000, nearly double the overall male rate. Social isolation, chronic pain, loss of independence, and untreated depression all contribute to elevated risk in older men, who are also less likely to seek mental health treatment than women of the same age.
How Age Changes the Picture
The leading cause of death shifts dramatically depending on a man’s age. For men under 35, unintentional injuries and suicide dominate. Car crashes, drug overdoses, and self-harm collectively account for the majority of deaths in this group, with heart disease barely registering.
Between 35 and 55, cancer begins climbing the rankings alongside heart disease. By 55, heart disease takes over as the clear frontrunner and stays there for the rest of life. For men over 65, heart disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory diseases (primarily emphysema and chronic bronchitis, often from decades of smoking) account for the vast majority of deaths.
This age pattern matters because it shapes which prevention strategies are most relevant at different life stages. A 25-year-old man benefits most from seatbelt use, avoiding substance misuse, and mental health support. A 50-year-old benefits most from blood pressure management, cancer screenings, and exercise. The risks change, and attention should shift with them.
Racial and Ethnic Differences
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men across most racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., but the rates are not equal. Black men have the highest age-adjusted death rates from heart disease and are more likely to develop high blood pressure at younger ages. They also face higher death rates from prostate cancer and stroke compared to white men.
For Hispanic and Asian American men, cancer sometimes overtakes heart disease as the leading killer, partly because heart disease rates are somewhat lower in these populations. Native American and Alaska Native men face elevated rates of unintentional injuries, diabetes, and liver disease compared to the national average. These disparities reflect a mix of genetics, access to healthcare, environmental exposures, and socioeconomic factors that cluster unevenly across communities.