About 12.6 million Americans currently have heart disease.

1.1 million Americans will experience a serious heart event this year.

One in four Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease. Every 34 seconds one American will die as a result of cardiovascular disease.

No other disease claims as many women's lives as cardiovascular disease. One American woman dies each minute as a result of cardiovascular disease.

Around 700,000 Americans will have a stroke this years. That's one stroke every 45 seconds.

HEART DISEASE IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST KILLER OF AMERICANS. IT KILLS AS MANY AMERICANS AS THE NEXT 5 LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH.

One way to dramatically decrease your chance of heart disease if you're a smoker is to quit smoking.

If you are a smoker in your thirties or forties you have a five time greater chance of having a heart attack than a non smoker. Smoking may be directly responsible for at least 20% of all deaths from heart disease.

Cigarette smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. It also increases blood pressure and the tendency of blood to clot.

In the United States, over 440,000 people die prematurely from smoking.

In Australia, smoking kills more than 19,000 people each year, of which 40% die from heart and blood vessel disease.

Smokers have a 70% greater risk of death from coronary heart disease than non-smokers.

Smoking increases your risk of having a stroke by three times.

By quitting smoking you raise your good cholesterol levels. One year after quitting smoking you reduce your risk for heart disease by 50 percent.