Death toll: What were the biggest US causes of death in 2022
by Abigail Adcox, Healthcare Reporter
December 31, 2022 06:30 AMHeart disease is on track to remain the leading cause of death in the United States this year, accounting for the largest number of deaths since 1950.
As of September, behind heart disease, cancer and COVID-19 were the second- and third-highest, respectively, underlying causes of deaths in the country, as the pandemic continued to take a toll, according to an analysis of the total death sum by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation published in November.
Over 570,000 people died of heart disease from January to September this year. In America, heart disease continues to claim more lives than cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined. Some risk factors for heart disease include high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and smoking.
Meanwhile, cancer was responsible for more than 450,000 deaths, and COVID-19 accounted for over 230,000 deaths so far this year. Almost half of the COVID-19 deaths occurred in the first two months of the year as the highly contagious omicron variant tore through the country, per the analysis. Since then, COVID-19 deaths have largely plateaued, though hospitalizations have increased in the past two weeks following Thanksgiving.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/us-causes-death-2022-heart-disease-cancer-covid-19
