Heart Disease in Minnesota

How common is heart disease in Minnesota?

• In 2023, 4% of adults in Minnesota reported ever having had a heart attack in their lifetime – almost 180,000 people.
• Approximately 17% of all deaths in Minnesota are due to heart disease (8,972 deaths in 2022), making it the second-leading cause of death in the state behind cancer.
• In 2022, Minnesotans experienced more than 45,000 acute heart disease hospitalizations.
• Every year from 2000 through 2022, Minnesota had the lowest overall heart disease death rate in the United States.

Are there disparities in heart disease rates in Minnesota?

• From 2018-2022, the heart disease death rate was 43% higher in people who are American Indian/Alaskan Native compared to Minnesotans overall. This disparity is greatest for middle-aged adults. American Indian/Alaskan Native adults aged 45-64 die from heart disease at 2.5 times the rate of all Minnesotans of the same age.
• Nationally there are significant disparities in heart disease deaths between African Americans and white Americans. In Minnesota, the difference is relatively small. One reason for this may be that Minnesota has many African-born residents, who have lower rates of death due to heart disease than U.S.-born African Americans.
• In the middle-aged adult group ages 45-64, Black or African American adults die from heart disease at nearly two times the rate of all Minnesotans of the same age.
• The lowest heart disease death rates in Minnesota are in people who are Asian and people who are Hispanic, with death rates 41% and 50% lower than the overall population, respectively.

What is the economic cost of heart disease?

• In the United States, there were over $120 billion in annual heart disease-related medical costs, including procedures, hospitalizations, rehabilitation, and an additional $132 billion from lost productivity due to premature deaths during 2019 and 2020.

Learn more

• Heart Disease, Stroke, Hypertension, and Diabetes Deaths in Minnesota Dashboard
• Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes Hospitalizations in Minnesota Dashboard
• Minnesota Public Health Data Access Portal: Heart Attacks
• About Heart Disease: Health information on heart disease and its risk factors

For more information, contact: health.heart@state.mn.us

References

1. MDH/Cardiovascular Health Unit analysis of Minnesota Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
2. MDH/Cardiovascular Health Unit analysis of Vital Statistics 2013-2022. Minnesota Center for Health Statistics, MDH.
3. Minnesota Hospital Uniform Billing (UB) Claims Data, Health Economics Program, MDH and Minnesota Hospital Association.
4. Martin SS, Aday AW, Almarzooq ZI, et al. 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association [published correction appears in Circulation. 2024 May 7;149(19):e1164. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001247]. Circulation. 2024;149(8):e347-e913. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001209.