US heart death rate from high blood pressure rose at ages 65 and older
The age-adjusted death rate rose from 53.31 per 100,000 in 1999 to 204.2 in 2024 among US adults aged 65 and older.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cross-sectional study of 1,338,405 US adults aged 65 and older
- What changed:
- The age-adjusted hypertensive heart disease death rate rose from 53.31 to 204.2 per 100,000 among older US adults
- The catch:
- Death-record coding errors could distort the trend in deaths attributed to hypertensive heart disease
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
US adults aged 65 and older accounted for 1,338,405 deaths from hypertensive heart disease, or heart disease caused by high blood pressure, from 1999 through 2024. An observational analysis of national death records counted deaths listing this disease as the underlying cause and compared age-adjusted death rates.
The rate reached 110.08 deaths per 100,000 in 2016, then rose more sharply to 194.1 in 2021 before increasing more slowly. Men’s rates rose throughout the periods analyzed. Women’s rates rose before leveling off after 2021. Black adults had the highest rates throughout the study period. The South had the highest recent mortality burden.
Why it matters
The authors called for stronger blood pressure control, more equitable heart disease prevention and regionally targeted public health strategies to reduce deaths among older adults.
Caveats
The rates covered deaths recorded with hypertensive heart disease as the underlying cause, not all deaths involving high blood pressure. The findings were reported in a conference abstract.
The paper
Dept of Internal Medicine; Dept of Cardiology
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 10006
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