Two myths about heart disease.

Heart disease no longer represents a serious threat. Medical scientists have made tremendous progress in fighting cardiovascular diseases. Even so, every 33 an American dies of CVD. That is over 954,000 deaths annually and more than 42% of all deaths every year. In fact, sicne 1900, the No. 1 killer in the U.S. has been CVD in every year but one (1918). As the population ages, these diseases may have an even greater human and economic impact. Heart failure, for example, is becoming much more prevalent, and total deaths from CVD, after years of decline, began rising in 1993.

According to the most recent computations done by the National Center for Health Statistics, if all forms of major cardiovascular disease were eliminated, life expectancy would rise by 9.78 years. By comparison, if all forms of cancer were eliminated, the gain would be three years.

If a heart attack doesn't kill you, you...