•  1) cardiac disease
• 2) cancer
• 3) stroke
•            4) chronic lower respiratory
• 5) accidents (unintentional injuries)
• 6)        Alzheimer’s disease
• 7)        diabetes mellitus
• 8)        influenza and pneumonia
• 9)        kidney disease
•          10)        septicemia
•
•
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The federal government collects and analyzes vital statistics and publishes the results in annual summaries.  Each year, approximately 0.8% of the entire U.S. population succumbs to illnesses or accidents (roughly 2.4 million deaths per year).

According to the Centers for Disease Control (National Vital Statistics Report – preliminary data), the leading causes of death in the United States in 2006 were:

   cause of death                            # of deaths

   major cardiac disease     629,191
   cancer       560,102
   stroke       137,265
   chronic lower respiratory diseases   124,614
   accidents (excluding suicides)                              121,599
   Alzheimer’s disease        73,177
   diabetes          72,507
   influenza and pneumonia        56,247
   septicemia          44,791