Spending on health care for people with chronic diseases accounts for 75 percent of America’s total health care costs. Chronic diseases also account for seven out of every ten deaths. As baby boomers move through middle age the prevalence of chronic conditions is increasing markedly. From 2000 to the 2004, the number of American adults diagnosed with high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis and diabetes has grown at a rate two to three times total population growth.

Chart Source: National Center for Health Statistics, data from National Health Interview Surveys 2000 and 2004.

Chronic diseases are a huge burden on America’s health; however chronic diseases are mostly preventable and can be effectively managed. Effective measures that prevent or delay the impacts of chronic disease can do much to delay or curtail its devastating consequences.