Heart disease is a broad term for various types of heart problems.1 It is a cardiovascular disease, which encompasses diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels. Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States for over a century.2 Risk factors include obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, and smoking. The most common type of heart disease in the U.S. is coronary artery disease,3 which occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries and blocks blood flow to the heart. This can lead to heart failure, when the heart fails to pump sufficient blood to meet the body’s needs, or heart attacks, when heart muscle tissue dies due to lack of blood flow.
This page provides data points and curated searches from OMH’s Knowledge Center library catalog related to heart disease within minority and tribal populations in the United States and its territories. The number of catalog records for each topic reflect the search results at the time of this page’s latest update.
American Indian/Alaska Native
In 2024, American Indian/Alaska Native adults were diagnosed with coronary heart disease 30% less frequently than the total population.4 American Indian/Alaska Native adults were 60% more likely to be current cigarette smokers than the total population in 2024.5 In 2022, American Indian/Alaska Native people died due to major cardiovascular disease 29% less frequently than the total population.6
For additional data on heart disease and American Indians/Alaska Natives, please visit our Population Profiles.
Asian American
In 2024, Asian American adults were diagnosed with coronary heart disease 28% less frequently than the total population.7 In 2022, non-Hispanic Asian Americans died from heart disease 52% less frequently than the total population.8 In 2024, Asian American adults were diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) 20% less frequently than the total population.9 From 2017–2020, non-Hispanic Asian American adults with high blood pressure had their blood pressure under control 13% less frequently than the total population with high blood pressure.10
For additional data on heart disease and Asian Americans, please visit our Population Profiles.
Black/African American
In 2024, Black or African American adults were diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) 26% more frequently than the total population.11 From 2017–2020, Black or African American adults with high blood pressure had their blood pressure under control 18% less frequently than the total population with high blood pressure.12 In 2022, non-Hispanic Black people died from heart disease 4% more frequently than the total population.13
For additional data on heart disease and Black/African Americans, please visit our Population Profiles.
Hispanic/Latino
Compared to the total U.S. population in 2024, Hispanic/Latino Americans, on average, were diagnosed with high cholesterol 24% less frequently14 and were diagnosed with coronary heart disease 44% less frequently.15 In 2022, Hispanics/Latino Americans died from heart disease at a rate that was over 60% lower than the total population.16
For additional data on heart disease and Hispanic Americans, please visit our Population Profiles.
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
In 2014, Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders were diagnosed with heart disease 13% more frequently than the total U.S. population.17 In 2022, Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders died from major cardiovascular disease 21% less frequently than the total U.S. population.18 Heart-related health issues vary among the various Asian and Pacific Islander sub-populations.19 Recent national data related to heart disease for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders is limited. Local data from states with high populations of Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders may be useful in illustrating disparities among certain populations.
For additional data on heart disease and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, please visit our Population Profiles.
1 MedlinePlus. (2024). Heart Diseases. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine. Retrieved September 23, 2025, from https://medlineplus.gov/heartdiseases.html (Back)
2 CDC. (1999). Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Decline in Deaths from Heart Disease and Stroke—United States, 1900-1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 48(30), 649-656. Retrieved September 23, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4830a1.htm (Back)
3 CDC. (2024). About Heart Disease. Retrieved September 23, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/about/index.html (Back)
4 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of coronary heart disease for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. (Back)
5 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of current cigarette smoking for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. (Back)
6 CDC, 2025. Deaths: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 4. Table 10. (Back)
7 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of coronary heart disease for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. (Back)
8 CDC, 2025. Deaths: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 4. Table 10. (Back)
9 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of diagnosed hypertension for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. (Back)
10 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Healthy People 2030. Adults with hypertension whose blood pressure is under control by Race/Ethnicity, 2017-20. (Back)
11 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of diagnosed hypertension for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. (Back)
12 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Healthy People 2030. Adults with hypertension whose blood pressure is under control by Race/Ethnicity, 2017-20. (Back)
13 CDC, 2025. Deaths: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 4. Table 10. (Back)
14 National Center for Health Statistics. Percentage of high cholesterol for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. National Health Interview Survey. Generated interactively: Sep 07 2025 from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_adult/index.html (Back)
15National Center for Health Statistics. Percentage of coronary heart disease for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. National Health Interview Survey. Generated interactively: Sep 07 2025 from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_adult/index.html (Back)
16CDC, 2025. Deaths: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 4. Table 10. (Back)
17 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of high cholesterol for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. (Back)
18 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of coronary heart disease for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. Table 10. (Back)
19 CDC, 2017. National Center for Health Statistics. Health Conditions and Behaviors of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Persons in the United States, 2014. Table 5. (Back)
Date Last Reviewed: September 2025