Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2023 Update from the American Heart Association - Implications for Nephrology.

The annual American Heart Association (AHA) and National Institutes of Health statistical report details the most up to date statistics related to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular risk factors, primarily within the USA. Although not a formal systematic review or meta-analysis, this 600 page report provides the most comprehensive and best summary of cardiovascular statistics for the year in question. Although data is collated from USA data registries, it serves as a critical resource for clinicians, policymakers, administrators, and researchers in the northern and southern hemispheres. In this special report, we have chosen to highlight aspects of the document which are relevant to nephrologists given the overlap of cardiovascular and renal disease. These include i) key and emerging cardiovascular data signals in the general and chronic kidney disease populations, ii) ethnic and socio-economic disparity, iii) environmental and behavioural factors that drive high levels of cardiovascular disease and which are key components of the AHA's 8 components of the Life Essential cardiovascular health score, iv) the impact of covid 19 both directly and indirectly on heart health. We provide some commentary and critical analysis of both the data and of the production of such data sets suggesting that similar data on CKD could also be published and linked to the AHA and other datasets.