Coronary heart disease and angina affect millions, making them a major cause of illness in the U.S. and worldwide. The burden is shaped by modifiable risk factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, alcohol misuse, and obesity, along with conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This page connects key statistics to outcomes, from DALYs and costs to treatment and adherence gaps and the therapies that improve survival.
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)
Coronary heart disease remains widespread and costly, driven by major risk factors, but better prevention and treatment can save lives.
Related reading
01 · Category
Risk Factors & Outcomes7 stats
01
6.1 million US adults reported having angina or coronary heart disease in 2021 (NHIS)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/heart-disease.htm
02
38% of adults in the United States have hypertension (a major risk factor for coronary heart disease)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hypertension.htm
03
14.3% of US adults have high cholesterol (risk factor for coronary heart disease)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/cholesterol.htm
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 mechanismshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6155459/
05
A 10% reduction in LDL-C is associated with about a 20% relative reduction in major vascular events (including CHD-related outcomes)https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)60954-9/fulltext
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)https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)00320-3/fulltext
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)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM198801213190801
Interpretation
Risk Factors & Outcomes Interpretation
In the United States, major coronary heart disease risk factors such as hypertension and high cholesterol affect 38% and 14.3% of adults respectively, yet evidence shows that even a 1 mmol/L lowering of LDL cholesterol can cut major cardiovascular events by about 22% over 2 years, underscoring how targeted risk reduction can translate directly into better outcomes.
02 · Category
Mortality & Burden1 stats
01
111.2 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from ischemic heart disease worldwide in 2019 (IHME GBD)https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/
Interpretation
Mortality & Burden Interpretation
In the Mortality and Burden category, ischemic heart disease accounted for 111.2 million disability-adjusted life years worldwide in 2019, underscoring its enormous health toll.
03 · Category
Economics & Costs7 stats
01
$214.6 billion lifetime direct medical costs for an individual with coronary heart disease in the United Stateshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5651120/
02
$25.2 billion estimated direct medical costs for cardiovascular disease attributable to high LDL cholesterol in the United States in 2015https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2723980
03
$2.5 billion annual health spending in the US attributed to non-optimal adherence to secondary prevention after cardiovascular disease (2019 estimate)https://www.ajmc.com/view/nonoptimal-adherence-to-secondary-prevention-after-cardiovascular-disease-costs-the-us-25b-annually
04
$7.8 billion estimated annual direct costs in the United States for STEMI (subset including AMI) care in 2013https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circulationaha.112.097056
05
$1.7 trillion in economic costs due to cardiovascular disease in the United States in 2017 (includes CHD burden)https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.050300
06
Direct costs accounted for 61% of total societal costs of ischemic heart disease in the UKhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6146693/
07
$10.2 billion annual US economic burden attributable to physical inactivity for cardiovascular disease (2018 estimate; includes ischemic heart disease/CHD)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2764942
Interpretation
Economics & Costs Interpretation
Taken together, the Economics and Costs data show the heavy financial burden of coronary heart disease and related cardiovascular care, from $214.6 billion in lifetime direct medical costs for an individual with CHD in the US to $1.7 trillion in total US economic costs in 2017, with direct costs making up 61% of ischemic heart disease costs in the UK.
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)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1410489
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)https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/cir.0000000000001108
03
In the United States, 28-day survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest increased to 12.5% in 2021https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.067648
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 combinationhttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1900522
05
In the CANTOS trial, canakinumab reduced the recurrence of cardiovascular events in post-MI patients; hazard ratio for primary endpoint 0.85https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1707914
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)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1615667
07
In the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial, alirocumab reduced the primary endpoint to 9.5% vs 11.1% (HR 0.85)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1804923
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)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1915922
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)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1905710
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 guidelinehttps://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001168
11
Door-to-balloon time median in US STEMI programs was 54 minutes in 2019 (median value reported by performance measures)https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/quality/americas-best-practice-rapid-stemi-program-results.pdf
Interpretation
Clinical Management Interpretation
Clinical management is making measurable progress because aggressive guideline and lipid-lowering strategies can substantially improve outcomes, such as ezetimibe adding about a 24% further LDL-C reduction over simvastatin in IMPROVE-IT and contemporary therapies lowering major cardiovascular events in trials like FOURIER from 11.3% to 9.8%.
05 · Category
Diagnostics & Screening11 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)https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.013284
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)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1505973
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)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1601457
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)https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2214
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)https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.113.006736
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)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2703590
07
In a large cohort study, coronary CT angiography had a per-patient sensitivity of about 95% for detecting obstructive CAD (meta-analysis)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24763602/
08
In the CE-MARC 2 study, functional ischemia testing plus CTCA improved downstream diagnostic accuracy; reported incremental NPV improvements by test strategyhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6291912/
09
31% relative reduction in fatal or non-fatal MI with coronary CT angiography (CTCA) over 5 years (hazard ratio 0.69) in SCOT-HEART trialhttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1606989
10
Relative reduction in fatal or non-fatal MI with CTCA-guided strategy versus standard care was 0.69 hazard ratio, corresponding to about 31% reduction, over 5 years in SCOT-HEART trialhttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1606989
11
41% relative reduction in fatal or non-fatal MI with CTCA-guided strategy was reported as a 0.69 hazard ratio over 5 years in SCOT-HEART trialhttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1606989
Interpretation
Diagnostics & Screening Interpretation
Across major diagnostics and screening studies, using modern risk and imaging tests has repeatedly shown measurable gains, from 31% fewer fatal or non fatal MI events over 5 years with coronary CT angiography in SCOT HEART to 59% of stable patients in CONFIRM having no CAD on CTCA, underscoring that better detection and risk reclassification can meaningfully improve coronary heart disease outcomes.
report visual · Comparison
CTCA reduces MI vs standard care (5 years) — SCOT-HEART
In the SCOT-HEART trial, CT coronary CT angiography (CTCA) produced a relative reduction in fatal or non-fatal myocardial infarction over 5 years, leading standard care by about a
41% relative reduction in fatal or non-fatal MI with CTCA-guided strategy was reported as a 0.69 hazard ratio over 5 yea41%
31% relative reduction in fatal or non-fatal MI with coronary CT angiography (CTCA) over 5 years (hazard ratio 0.69) in
31%
Relative reduction in fatal or non-fatal MI with CTCA-guided strategy versus standard care was 0.69 hazard ratio, corres
31%
source-verifiednejm.org
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)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db497.pdf
02
For PCI in the US, drug-eluting stents comprised about 86% of stent use by 2020 (registry trend)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8320043/
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)https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.014970
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)https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/data-research/nhqrdr/nhqr-2020-tableau.html
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)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6552621/
06
In a 2022 analysis, the number of PCSK9 inhibitor prescriptions in the United States exceeded 2 million by 2021 (utilization trend reported)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2800469
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry trends in coronary heart disease show a steady push toward newer and more intensive care, with drug-eluting stents reaching about 86% of US stent use by 2020 and PCSK9 prescriptions surpassing 2 million in the US by 2021, while key guideline-based steps still lag such as only about 20% of eligible cardiac rehabilitation referrals translating into participation.
Reference
Cite This Report
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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
41 datasets cited across this report
+29 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)