When asking how many people die from heart disease most people know some do, but may not have a grasp on the true scope of the problem. The main culprit in these figures is a heart attack, which generally occurs when blood supply to the heart muscle is cut off. When this happens it is only a matter of minutes until oxygen deprived heart cells begin to die. The longer the elapsed time between the coronary event and restoring blood flow the greater the damage.
According to the American Heart Association, approximately 785,000 Americans have their first heart attack each year with an additional 470,000 experiencing a recurrent heart attack. That equals a staggering 1,255,000 Americans each year falling prey to a heart attack.