Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention

About the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention **At a glance** CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) supports programs that help millions of Americans control their high blood pressure and reduce other risk factors for heart disease and stroke, the first and fifth leading causes of death in the United States. **What we do** Heart disease and stroke are responsible for 1 in 4 deaths in the United States each year. In addition, 120 million people have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke and an increasingly common cause of pregnancy complications. Cardiovascular disease costs the health care system $251 billion every year and leads to $156 billion in lost productivity. In addition to high blood pressure, the leading preventable risk factors for heart disease and stroke are high LDL (bad) cholesterol, smoking, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. DHDSP works to improve prevention and control of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, especially for groups affected by health disparities, which are differences in health across sex, geographic, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. DHDSP's newest area of focus is improving women's cardiovascular health by raising awareness of heart disease as women's number one health threat and improving control of high blood pressure, including during and following pregnancy.