Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing 683,491 people in the most recent federal data. It has held the top spot for decades, and cardiovascular disease more broadly (which includes stroke and other conditions of the heart and blood vessels) accounts for roughly 1 in every 3 deaths nationwide.
The Top 10 Causes of Death
Based on 2024 mortality data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, the full ranking looks like this:
- Heart disease: 683,491 deaths
- Cancer: 619,876 deaths
- Accidents (unintentional injuries): 197,449 deaths
- Stroke: 166,852 deaths
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 145,643 deaths
- Alzheimer’s disease: 116,022 deaths
- Diabetes: 94,445 deaths
- Kidney disease: 55,081 deaths
- Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: 52,274 deaths
- Suicide: 48,824 deaths
One notable shift: suicide replaced COVID-19 as the 10th leading cause of death. Heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries have remained locked in the top three positions.
Heart Disease by the Numbers
The gap between heart disease and cancer, the second leading cause, is significant but not enormous: about 63,000 deaths separate them. Heart disease is the leading cause for both men and women, and together with cancer, the two conditions account for a massive share of all deaths each year.
When you expand beyond just “heart disease” (which primarily means coronary artery disease and heart attacks) to all cardiovascular disease, including stroke and other vascular conditions, the toll climbs dramatically. In 2023, 919,032 people died from cardiovascular disease overall. That broader category captures conditions that share overlapping risk factors: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.
Why Unintentional Injuries Rank Third
The third leading cause of death, unintentional injuries, might surprise people who expect a chronic disease in that spot. This category covers car crashes, falls, drownings, and poisonings. A large portion of poisoning deaths are drug overdoses. Of the 197,449 accidental deaths recorded, 75,761 were from unintentional poisoning alone, making overdoses the single biggest driver within this category.
Leading Causes Change With Age
The overall rankings reflect the population as a whole, but the picture shifts dramatically depending on age. Heart disease dominates among older adults, but it barely registers as a cause of death for younger people.
For Americans between ages 1 and 44, unintentional injury is the leading cause of death across every age bracket. That includes toddlers and children (ages 1 to 14), teens and young adults (15 to 24), and working-age adults (25 to 44). In those younger groups, the combination of car accidents, overdoses, and other injuries far outpaces any single disease.
The transition happens in middle age. Starting around age 45, heart disease takes over as the primary killer and stays there through age 65 and beyond. Among Americans 65 and older, heart disease caused 680,981 deaths in 2023, dwarfing every other cause in that age group. Cancer is consistently the second leading cause for adults over 45.
Cancer’s Toll
Cancer killed 619,876 people in the most recent data, making it a close second to heart disease. Unlike heart disease, which is largely one underlying process (plaque buildup in arteries leading to heart attacks and heart failure), cancer is really hundreds of different diseases grouped under one umbrella. Lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer are consistently among the deadliest types, though breast cancer and prostate cancer are more commonly diagnosed.
Cancer death rates have actually been falling for decades, driven by earlier screening, better treatments, and declining smoking rates. The gap between heart disease and cancer has narrowed over time, and in some recent years cancer briefly surpassed heart disease as the leading killer in certain age groups (particularly adults 45 to 64).
What These Numbers Mean in Practice
Several of the top causes of death share the same set of preventable risk factors. Heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and many cancers are all linked to smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, and excess weight. High blood pressure alone is a major contributor to both heart disease and stroke deaths, which together account for more than 850,000 deaths per year.
That overlap matters because it means relatively straightforward lifestyle changes, like staying physically active, not smoking, managing blood pressure, and maintaining a healthy weight, affect your risk for multiple entries on this list simultaneously. The leading cause of death is not inevitable. A significant share of heart disease deaths are considered preventable through risk factor management, which is part of why public health efforts have focused so heavily on cholesterol screening, blood pressure control, and tobacco cessation for decades.