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