Before...?

The number of Americans dying of heart disease increased last year for the first time in more than a decade.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in America, responsible for about 1 in every 4 deaths. New data released by the National Center for Health Statistics shows it took more than 633,000 lives in 2015.  Contributors to increased mortality include stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and kidney disease. 

What we've done before is that we identify the disease once it exists and do our best to treat it. But the brave new world is to identify the disease you might get before you get it.

Decades of research has shown that eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, avoiding tobacco products and using medication to control blood pressure and cholesterol can drastically reduce the risk of heart disease. Heart disease costs the United States about $207 billion each year. 

One in three Americans has high blood pressure. Controlling blood pressure more intensely than previously recommended can significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and death.