The numbers are sobering, but there is a silver lining: you may have already talked to your doctor about reducing your risk in key ways.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in both the U.S. and across the globe, according to the most recently available data from both the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO)—and the American Heart Association reports that nearly 2,500 Americans die from cardiovascular disease every day. While a recent August 2025 study concluded that worldwide heart-related deaths are expected to rise by more than 70% by 2050, take heart: the text also highlights three risk factors that may be possible to manage.
The study, published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology (EJPC) by an international group of heart health and biostatistics researchers, reviewed nearly 30 years’ worth of data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study. The team then used a statistical tool known as a Poisson regression model to map future deaths associated with cardiovascular disease between 2025 and 2050. While the global number of cardiovascular disease-related deaths is estimated to hit 20.5 million this year, researchers says the number is expected to climb to 35.6 million by the year 2050.
Three factors indicative of heart disease risk today will also be the “predominant risk factors expected to drive cardiovascular diseases from 2025 to 2050,” the study emphasizes. The identified risk factors are:
- High systolic blood pressure
- Dietary risks
- High cholesterol
Another potential risk factor, high body-mass index (BMI), is also noted as being “likely to see a rapid rise in certain regions.” The text flags two concerns regarding dietary risk: diets that are high in sodium and low in whole grain. Though the study doesn’t spell out best management practices for these risk factors, all three are listed by the American Heart Association as actionable or manageable. The organization also recommends quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, managing diabetes, getting frequent exercise, managing stress, and taking medications as prescribed by your doctor.
The EJPC study also provided a review of Disability-Adjusted Life Years, a metric used in public health to estimate the overall burden of disease and injury. To find this metric, researchers combine the years of life lost due to premature death (Years of Life Lost) with the years lived with disability (Years Lived with Disability) in order to paint a more complete picture of a disease’s toll.
Ultimately, the EJPC study projected that between 2025 and 2050, there will be:
- A 90.0% increase in cardiovascular prevalence
- A 73.4% increase in crude (unadjusted) cardiovascular deaths (versus age-adjusted deaths)
- A 54.7% increase in crude disability-adjusted life years
The researchers further specified that “the continued rise in [cardiovascular disease] burden will largely be attributed to atherosclerotic diseases”—those resulting from the hardening of arteries, such as heart attack, blood clots, or stroke.
But there is some hopeful news tucked within the study’s cautions, including: while the global cardiovascular disease burden is projected rise starkly over the coming decades, this is largely due to a growing population and generally longer lifespans. In fact, the team notes that “worldwide treatment outcomes are anticipated to improve,” and when age adjustments are taken into account, the prevalence of cardiovascular cases is expected to remain “relatively constant.” As such, the study serves as a valuable reminder that making heart-smart decisions now could help create a healthier tomorrow for yourself.
For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy by Reader’s Digest newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:
- New Research: Living in Any of These 9 Regions Could Increase Heart Failure Risk by 27%
- Want To Know How Long You’ll Live? New Research Says One Simple Maneuver Could Hint at Heart Disease and Cancer Risk
- “How I Knew I Had Myocarditis”: A 46-Year-Old’s Brush with Heart Failure Following COVID Infection
- Only 50% of Americans Who Need This Heart Attack Prevention Drug Are Taking It, Say Researchers
