Between 20 and 40 percent of deaths could be prevented.
A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report revealed the five leading causes of death in the United States, a news release reported.
"Heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and unintentional injuries," made up 63 percent of all U.S. deaths in 2010.
The study concluded that if every state had the lowest death rate for each cause, 34 percent of premature death from heart disease could be prevented. Other statistics included: "21 percent of premature cancer deaths, prolonging about 84,500 lives; 39 percent of premature deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases, prolonging about 29,000 lives; 33 percent of premature stroke deaths, prolonging about 17,000 lives; 39 percent of premature deaths from unintentional injuries, prolonging about 37,000 lives," the news release reported.
""As a doctor, it is heartbreaking to lose just one patient to a preventable disease or injury - and it is that much more poignant as the director of the nation's public health agency to know that far more than a hundred thousand deaths each year are preventable," Tom Frieden, MD, MPH said in the news release. "With programs such as the CDC's Million Hearts initiative, we are working hard to prevent many of these premature deaths."
Each cause of death comes with a wide range of accompanying risk factors. Tobacco use and a poor diet can put one at risk of heart disease while getting too much sun can increase one's risk of skin cancer.
"We think that this report can help states set goals for preventing premature death from the conditions that account for the majority of deaths in the United States," Harold W. Jaffe, MD, the study's senior author and CDC's associate director for science, said in the news release. "Achieving these goals could prolong the lives of tens of thousands of Americans."
