Leading causes of death suggest need for better prevention and treatment of chronic diseases | News

August 22, 2024 – Many of the most common deaths in the United States could be delayed or prevented through lifestyle changes and improved primary health care, experts say.

According to an August 8 report from the National Center for Health Statistics, heart disease and cancer remain the leading causes of death, followed by unintentional injuries, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, kidney disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, Covid-19, suicide, and influenza and pneumonia.

Asaf Bitton, executive director of Ariadne Labs and associate professor of health policy, was among the experts who agreed in coverage of the report that the U.S. health care system needs to improve chronic disease treatment.

“We know how to provide better cardiology, outpatient care and primary care. And we know how to integrate mental health into outpatient care. It takes investment, focus and discipline on the part of a health care system to deliver on what it claims to promise,” he said in an Aug. 8 STAT News article.

Without improvements in health care, including systems that support patients in making healthy lifestyle changes, Bitton said the United States could face “serious chronic diseases.” [to] are taking a terrible toll, and unfairly so. And we will essentially be wasting a lot of preventable deaths.”

Bitton discussed the importance of healthy lifestyle changes for longevity in an Aug. 8 Yahoo! Life article. “If we can help a person not smoke, exercise, not drink too much alcohol, control their weight and blood pressure, and get regular cancer screenings, we're on track to increase life expectancy by about a decade,” he said. “Those are the big things that determine whether you get to see your grandchildren or a major life event. None of those things are easy to implement, but those are the most important things if you want to live a longer and functional life.”

Read the STAT article: Although Covid deaths are declining, heart disease and cancer remain the leading causes of death

Read Yahoo! Life's article: CDC reveals leading causes of death over the past 5 years. Here are 5 key findings.

Photo: iStock / Jacob Wackerhausen