Heart disease is the number one killer in North Carolina, causing four out of ten deaths each year.

The facts are startling. Every 21 seconds someone in our state dies from heart disease.

The effects of heart disease can be measured in both personal and financial costs. In addition to the human trauma associated with a heart attack or stroke, the cost of treating acute heart disease is staggering.

That's a rate much higher than the national average. And our state is located in the Stroke Belt, a region in which death rates due to stroke–the number one disabling disease–are higher than in the rest of the country.

In 50% of men and 63% of women who die suddenly of heart disease, there were no previous symptoms of the disease.

• Seventy percent of heart disease expenses in America are associated with preventable conditions.
• One case of heart disease that's detected late can cost over $250,000.
• Every employee with high blood pressure can cause $270 to $460 per year in lost output.
• Employees who smoke have twice the number of job-related accidents as nonsmokers, and 20% more absenteeism.

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