More than half of US adults will have cardiovascular disease by 2050, research finds [Video]

About 61% of U.S. adults will have cardiovascular disease by 2050, new research from the American Heart Association predicts. The biggest driver of this trend will be the large number of people who have or will develop high blood pressure, which makes them much more likely to develop dangerous problems like a heart attack or stroke.Other cardiovascular problems include heart attacks, arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation or a-fib, heart failure and congenital heart disease.Despite innovations in treatments, heart disease has been the leading killer of Americans for decades, responsible for more than 800,000 deaths every year.In the research published Tuesday, the association predicts that 45 million adults will have some form of cardiovascular disease – excluding high blood pressure – or will have a stroke in 2050, up from 28 million in 2020.An aging population will be another force behind these trends, as the older you get, the more likely you …