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Group says heart and stroke deaths fall in U.S.  

Death rates from heart disease and stroke are falling in the United States but heart and artery disease remains the leading cause of death, the American Heart Association said on Monday.

An estimated 869,724 people died from heart disease in 2004, compared to 911,163 in 2003, the Heart Association said.

Cancer was the second-biggest killer, taking 553,888 lives in 2004. Stroke, when considered separately from other cardiovascular diseases, was the third leading killer, taking 150,074 lives. . . .

"Although we have made some substantial strides in understanding the causes of cardiovascular disease, the data in this publication show that we have a long way to go to capture people's attention and to implement the prevention and treatment programs we need," added Lloyd-Jones, who works at Northwestern University in Chicago. . . .

More than 46 million Americans smoke daily and about 4,000 teenagers aged 12 to 17 begin smoking every day.

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