Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is common in the general population and is the leading cause of death and hospitalizations in the United States.1 CVD includes coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease (CAD), and is a disease in which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. The coronary artery is then narrowed by the build-up of plaque which limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood through the artery. This can lead to myocardial infarction (MI), angina pectoris, heart failure and coronary death.
The American Heart Association statistics state that between 2013 and 2016, 121.5 million American adults had some form of cardiovascular disease.The reported prevalence increases with age for both sexes, independent of race. The Cardiovascular Lifetime Risk Pooling Project also demonstrates that optimizing modifiable risk factors reduces the lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease.