Six point one million US adults report having angina or coronary heart disease. Ischemic heart disease accounts for 111.2 million disability adjusted life years worldwide. Lifetime direct medical costs for an individual with coronary heart disease reach 214.6 billion dollars in the United States.
Key Takeaways
- 6.1 million US adults reported having angina or coronary heart disease in 2021 (NHIS)
- 38% of adults in the United States have hypertension (a major risk factor for coronary heart disease)
- 14.3% of US adults have high cholesterol (risk factor for coronary heart disease)
- 111.2 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from ischemic heart disease worldwide in 2019 (IHME GBD)
- $214.6 billion lifetime direct medical costs for an individual with coronary heart disease in the United States
- $25.2 billion estimated direct medical costs for cardiovascular disease attributable to high LDL cholesterol in the United States in 2015
- $2.5 billion annual health spending in the US attributed to non-optimal adherence to secondary prevention after cardiovascular disease (2019 estimate)
- In the IMPROVE-IT trial, ezetimibe reduced LDL-C by an additional ~24% over simvastatin alone (median 2.4 mmol/L to 1.8 mmol/L range; reported as percent reduction in publication)
- 20.0% of adults in the United States met the 2023 AHA/ACC LDL-C goal of <70 mg/dL for very-high-risk patients (CHD-equivalent high risk)
- In the United States, 28-day survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest increased to 12.5% in 2021
- In the United States, about 20% of adults with known coronary heart disease have never received a statin (treatment gap estimate; reported in NHANES-based analyses)
- In the PROMISE trial, coronary CT angiography reduced unnecessary invasive angiography compared with functional testing; invasive angiography occurred in 12% vs 15% (proportion reported)
- In the SCOT-HEART trial, coronary CT angiography reduced the rate of fatal/non-fatal MI by 31% over 5 years (hazard ratio 0.69)
- Statins are used by 32.9% of US adults aged 40+ with high estimated 10-year ASCVD risk (NHANES estimate)
- For PCI in the US, drug-eluting stents comprised about 86% of stent use by 2020 (registry trend)
In 2021, 6.1 million US adults had angina or coronary heart disease, underscoring major prevention needs.
Related reading
01 · Category
Risk Factors & Outcomes7 stats
01
6.1 million US adults reported having angina or coronary heart disease in 2021 (NHIS)
02
38% of adults in the United States have hypertension (a major risk factor for coronary heart disease)
03
14.3% of US adults have high cholesterol (risk factor for coronary heart disease)
04
40% of cardiovascular disease in the United States is attributable to 5 risk factors (smoking, diet, physical inactivity, alcohol misuse, and obesity) including CHD mechanisms
05
A 10% reduction in LDL-C is associated with about a 20% relative reduction in major vascular events (including CHD-related outcomes)
06
A 1 mmol/L (≈38.7 mg/dL) reduction in LDL-C reduces major cardiovascular events by about 22% over 2 years (meta-analysis)
07
After acute myocardial infarction, 12-month risk of recurrent cardiovascular events is substantially reduced by statin therapy (meta-analytic relative risk reduction varies; overall RR ~0.78)
Interpretation
Risk Factors & Outcomes Interpretation
In the Risk Factors and Outcomes view of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure affects 38% of US adults and high cholesterol 14.3%, yet lowering LDL-C shows a clear outcome payoff with a 1 mmol/L reduction linked to about a 22% drop in major cardiovascular events over 2 years.
02 · Category
Mortality & Burden1 stats
01
111.2 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from ischemic heart disease worldwide in 2019 (IHME GBD)
Interpretation
Mortality & Burden Interpretation
In 2019, ischemic heart disease accounted for 111.2 million DALYs worldwide, underscoring a massive mortality and health burden within Coronary Heart Disease.
03 · Category
Economics & Costs7 stats
01
$214.6 billion lifetime direct medical costs for an individual with coronary heart disease in the United States
02
$25.2 billion estimated direct medical costs for cardiovascular disease attributable to high LDL cholesterol in the United States in 2015
03
$2.5 billion annual health spending in the US attributed to non-optimal adherence to secondary prevention after cardiovascular disease (2019 estimate)
04
$7.8 billion estimated annual direct costs in the United States for STEMI (subset including AMI) care in 2013
05
$1.7 trillion in economic costs due to cardiovascular disease in the United States in 2017 (includes CHD burden)
06
Direct costs accounted for 61% of total societal costs of ischemic heart disease in the UK
07
$10.2 billion annual US economic burden attributable to physical inactivity for cardiovascular disease (2018 estimate; includes ischemic heart disease/CHD)
Interpretation
Economics & Costs Interpretation
Economics and costs data show that the financial burden of coronary heart disease in the United States and beyond is massive, with $1.7 trillion in total economic costs from cardiovascular disease in 2017 and billions more driven by specific risk and care gaps, such as $2.5 billion a year tied to non-optimal secondary prevention adherence after cardiovascular disease and $10.2 billion a year linked to physical inactivity.
More related reading
04 · Category
Clinical Management11 stats
01
In the IMPROVE-IT trial, ezetimibe reduced LDL-C by an additional ~24% over simvastatin alone (median 2.4 mmol/L to 1.8 mmol/L range; reported as percent reduction in publication)
02
20.0% of adults in the United States met the 2023 AHA/ACC LDL-C goal of <70 mg/dL for very-high-risk patients (CHD-equivalent high risk)
03
In the United States, 28-day survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest increased to 12.5% in 2021
04
In the SWEDEHEART registry, guideline-based therapy after MI (including dual antiplatelet therapy) is associated with lower 1-year mortality; absolute mortality reductions are reported per treatment combination
05
In the CANTOS trial, canakinumab reduced the recurrence of cardiovascular events in post-MI patients; hazard ratio for primary endpoint 0.85
06
In the FOURIER trial, evolocumab reduced the primary endpoint (CV death, MI, stroke, or urgent revascularization) to 9.8% vs 11.3% with placebo (HR 0.85)
07
In the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial, alirocumab reduced the primary endpoint to 9.5% vs 11.1% (HR 0.85)
08
In the ISCHEMIA trial, invasive strategy did not reduce major adverse ischemic events compared with conservative strategy in the overall cohort (primary endpoint HR 0.93)
09
In the SYNTAX trial at 5 years, PCI and CABG had similar rates of stroke; all-cause mortality was 25.0% for PCI vs 22.3% for CABG (left main/subgroup results reported by arm)
10
2024 AHA/ACC guideline for chronic coronary disease recommends SGLT2 inhibitors in appropriate patients to reduce CV events; evidence summarized from major trials with relative risk reductions (~15–25%) reported in guideline
11
Door-to-balloon time median in US STEMI programs was 54 minutes in 2019 (median value reported by performance measures)
Interpretation
Clinical Management Interpretation
Across major clinical management trials and guidelines, adding or optimizing lipid lowering and targeted therapies is consistently associated with meaningful event reductions, such as FOURIER lowering the primary endpoint to 9.8% versus 11.3% with evolocumab and IMPROVE IT achieving an additional ~24% LDL-C reduction with ezetimibe, while real world outcomes like 2021 US out of hospital cardiac arrest survival reaching 12.5% show progress beyond medications.
05 · Category
Diagnostics & Screening8 stats
01
In the United States, about 20% of adults with known coronary heart disease have never received a statin (treatment gap estimate; reported in NHANES-based analyses)
02
In the PROMISE trial, coronary CT angiography reduced unnecessary invasive angiography compared with functional testing; invasive angiography occurred in 12% vs 15% (proportion reported)
03
In the SCOT-HEART trial, coronary CT angiography reduced the rate of fatal/non-fatal MI by 31% over 5 years (hazard ratio 0.69)
04
In the NURD/registry analyses, abnormal ECG plus troponin in the ED is associated with elevated MI probability; reported sensitivity/specificity vary; pooled sensitivity ~0.80–0.90 in meta-analyses (hs-troponin)
05
2020 guideline evidence base: coronary artery calcium scoring reclassifies risk and is associated with graded MI/CVD event rates; CHD event risk increases with CAC=0 vs CAC>400 (relative risk reported in review)
06
In the CONFIRM registry, prevalence of obstructive CAD by CTCA increased with age and symptoms; 59% had no CAD in stable patients (no CAD definition by CT)
07
In a large cohort study, coronary CT angiography had a per-patient sensitivity of about 95% for detecting obstructive CAD (meta-analysis)
08
In the CE-MARC 2 study, functional ischemia testing plus CTCA improved downstream diagnostic accuracy; reported incremental NPV improvements by test strategy
Interpretation
Diagnostics & Screening Interpretation
Across key Diagnostics and Screening evidence, coronary CT angiography stands out as a practical gatekeeper and risk clarifier by cutting unnecessary invasive angiography from 15% to 12% in PROMISE and reducing fatal or non fatal MI by 31% over 5 years in SCOT HEART, while risk stratification using tests like CAC and combined ECG plus hs troponin helps identify who is most likely to have events or obstructive disease.
06 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
Statins are used by 32.9% of US adults aged 40+ with high estimated 10-year ASCVD risk (NHANES estimate)
02
For PCI in the US, drug-eluting stents comprised about 86% of stent use by 2020 (registry trend)
03
Nearly 80% of US adults with coronary heart disease receive some form of cardiac rehabilitation referral, but only about 20% actually participate (gap estimate; reported in national analyses)
04
In the US, the proportion of acute MI patients prescribed ACE inhibitors/ARBs (as appropriate) at discharge was 73.5% in 2020 (quality measure reporting)
05
In the US, the proportion of patients with prior MI who received an LDL-C measurement in the prior year was 59% in 2018 (claims-based performance measure)
06
In a 2022 analysis, the number of PCSK9 inhibitor prescriptions in the United States exceeded 2 million by 2021 (utilization trend reported)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends in coronary heart disease show a clear shift toward modern, guideline-driven therapies as statin use reaches 32.9% among higher-risk US adults, drug-eluting stents account for about 86% of PCI by 2020, and PCSK9 inhibitor prescriptions surpassed 2 million in the US by 2021.
report visual · Comparison
US coronary heart disease risk factors & prevalence (selected)
Across US adults, hypertension and high cholesterol are common alongside self-reported angina/CHD.
Share of CVD attributable to 5 risk factors40%
Adults with hypertension38%
Adults with high cholesterol14.3%
Adults reporting angina or coronary heart disease (2021)6.1
source-verifiedcdc.gov · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov2021
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Margot Villeneuve. (2026, February 13). Coronary Heart Disease Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/coronary-heart-disease-statistics
MLA
Margot Villeneuve. "Coronary Heart Disease Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/coronary-heart-disease-statistics.
Chicago
Margot Villeneuve. 2026. "Coronary Heart Disease Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/coronary-heart-disease-statistics.
Sources & references
40 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+28 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)