The leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease and cancer. However, in 2022, COVID-19 was the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for around six percent of all deaths that year. In 2022, there were around 45 deaths from COVID-19 per 100,000 population.

Cardiovascular disease

Deaths from cardiovascular disease are more common among men than women but have decreased for both sexes over the past few decades. Coronary heart disease accounts for the highest portion of cardiovascular disease deaths in the United States, followed by stroke and high blood pressure. The states with the highest death rates from cardiovascular disease include Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama. Smoking tobacco, physical inactivity, poor diet, stress, and being overweight or obese are all risk factors for developing heart disease.

Cancer

Although cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, like deaths from cardiovascular disease, deaths from cancer have decreased over the last few decades. The highest death rates from cancer come from lung cancer for both men and women. Breast cancer is the second deadliest cancer for women, while prostate cancer is the second deadliest cancer for men. West Virginia, Mississippi, and Kentucky lead the nation with the highest cancer death rates.

In 2023, the states with the highest death rates due to heart disease were Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama. That year, there were around 251 deaths due to heart disease per 100,000 population in the state of Oklahoma. In comparison, the overall death rate from heart disease in the United States was 162 per 100,000 population. The leading cause of death in the United States Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 22 percent of all deaths in 2023. That year, cancer was the second leading cause of death, followed by unintentional injuries and cerebrovascular diseases. In the United States, a person has a one in six chance of dying from heart disease. Death rates for heart disease are higher among men than women, but both have seen steady decreases in heart disease death rates since the 1950s. What are risk factors for heart disease? Although heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, the risk of heart disease can be decreased by avoiding known risk factors. Some of the leading preventable risk factors for heart disease include smoking, heavy alcohol use, physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet, and being overweight or obese. It is no surprise that the states with the highest rates of death from heart disease are also the states with the highest rates of heart disease risk factors. For example, Oklahoma, the state with the highest heart disease death rate, is also the state with the sixth-highest rate of obesity. Furthermore, Mississippi is the state with the highest levels of physical inactivity, and it has the second-highest heart disease death rate in the United States.

In the United States, the average person has a * in * chance of dying from heart disease and a * in * chance of dying from cancer. In comparison, the odds of dying from a dog attack are * in ******. Sadly, the odds of dying from an opioid overdose in the U.S. are * in **, making death from an opioid overdose more likely than dying from a motor vehicle accident. Opioid overdose death rates have increased insignificantly in the U.S. over the past decade. Leading causes of death in the United States Given the high lifetime odds of dying from heart disease or cancer, it is unsurprising that heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death in the United States. Together, heart disease and cancer account for around ** percent of all deaths. Other leading causes of death include accidents, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. However, in 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States and remained the fourth leading cause of death in 2022, with around **** deaths per 100,000 population. Heart disease in the U.S. In 2023, the death rate from heart disease in the United States was around *** per 100,000 population. The states with the highest rates of death from heart disease are Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama. Coronary heart disease is the most common form of heart disease in the United States. Common risk factors for heart disease include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, excessive drinking, and being overweight or obese.

In the United States, the leading causes of death among women are heart disease and cancer. Heart disease and cancer are similarly the leading causes of death among U.S. men. In 2022, heart disease accounted for **** percent of all deaths among women in the United States, while cancer accounted for **** percent of deaths. COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death among both men and women in 2020 and 2021, and the fourth leading cause in 2022. Cancer among women in the U.S. The most common types of cancer among U.S. women are breast, lung and bronchus, and colon and rectum. In 2025, there were around ******* new breast cancer cases among women, compared to ******* new cases of lung and bronchus cancer. Although breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women in the United States, lung and bronchus cancer causes the highest number of cancer deaths. In 2025, around ****** women were expected to die from lung and bronchus cancer, compared to ****** from breast cancer. Breast cancer Although breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer among women, rates of death have decreased over the past few decades. This decrease is possibly due to early detection, progress in therapy, and increasing awareness of risk factors. In 2023, the death rate due to breast cancer was **** per 100,000 population, compared to a rate of **** per 100,000 in the year 1990. The state with the highest rate of deaths due to breast cancer is Oklahoma, while South Dakota had the lowest rates.

Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma were the top three leading U.S states by number of deaths due to asthma per 100,000 population as of 2022. Mississippi reported 1.6 deaths per 100,000 population with asthma as the underlying cause of death. In 2021, around 40 percent of people in the United States with asthma reported experiencing an asthma episode in the past 12 months. Prevalence As of 2022, around eight percent of individuals in the United States were reported to currently have asthma. New Hampshire and Rhode Island were the leading states by lifetime prevalence of asthma among adults in 2021. Furthermore, Rhode Island and Maine have the highest current prevalence of asthma among adults in the United States. Treatment Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways of the lungs, and can cause shortness of breath, tightness or pain in the chest, coughing, and wheezing. Asthma symptoms can be treated through corticosteroid inhalers, such as albuterol. The number of albuterol prescriptions in the United States was around 59 million in 2022. The current out-of-pocket cost for albuterol is eight U.S. dollars.

Among health app users in the U.S. between 18 and 64 years old, most popular are nutrition apps, with almost % having used them in the past 12 months. Sleep tracking apps that help you track your sleep rank second.
Common causes of death in the United States Most people in the U.S. die of heart diseases as of 2017. This kind of death can be caused by e.g. smoking, obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure. Oklahoma, as of 2018, is the U.S. state with the highest number of deaths by heart diseases followed by Alabama and Mississippi.
What is the leading health app worldwide? Calorie Counter MyFitness Pal is the leading health and fitness app on Android based on revenue. As of November 2019, this app generated a revenue of close to US$* thousand followed by mediation app Calm – Meditate, Sleep, Relax. FitBit, one of the leading iPhone health and fitness apps in Germany based on daily active users, ranks fourth.