We thank Drs Sean Coady, Eric L. Ding, Brian Eigel, Gregg C. Fonarow, Linda Geiss, Cherie James, Michael Mussolino, and Michael Wolz for their valuable comments and contributions. We acknowledge Tim Anderson and Tom Schneider for their editorial contributions, and Karen Modesitt for her administrative assistance. Disclosures ⇓⇓⇓⇓ View this table: Writing Group Disclosures View this table: Writing Group Disclosures, Continued View this table: Writing Group Disclosures, Continued View this table: Writing Group Disclosures, Continued # Summary {#article-title-2} Each year, the American Heart Association, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies, brings together the most up-to-date statistics on heart disease, stroke, other vascular diseases, and their risk factors and presents them in its Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update. The Statistical Update is a valuable resource for researchers, clinicians, healthcare policy makers, media professionals, the lay …