What do Americans aged 85 and over die of most often?
In the 12 months through June 2025, heart disease was the leading cause of death for Americans aged 85 and over, at 3,759 deaths per 100,000 people that age, more than twice the rate for cancer (1,631). Stroke (1,064) and Alzheimer disease (1,039) came next. The numbers are provisional.
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Key facts
Measure: Deaths per 100,000 people aged 85 and over in a year. Written from the data below.
- Heart disease has the highest figure, 3,759.1, followed by Cancer (1,630.7) and Stroke (1,064.4).
- Hypertension has the lowest figure, 247.9, followed by Kidney disease (257.2) and Diabetes (271.4).
- The highest is 15 times the lowest.
Source and date
- Data as of
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Citation
Chartly. “What do Americans aged 85 and over die of most often?” Chart. Data: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Quarterly provisional estimates of mortality, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/mortality-dashboard.htm (data as of June 30, 2025). https://chart.ly/charts/causes-of-death-ages-85-and-over (accessed October 15, 2026).
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The data
Download data (CSV)The file has the numbers in this table, with the source, license and date. Please credit the source and Chartly.
| Cause of death | Deaths per 100,000 people aged 85 and over in a year |
|---|---|
| Heart disease | 3,759.1 |
| Cancer | 1,630.7 |
| Stroke | 1,064.4 |
| Alzheimer disease | 1,039.2 |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases | 567.8 |
| Unintentional injuries | 428.1 |
| Influenza and pneumonia | 285.1 |
| Diabetes | 271.4 |
| Kidney disease | 257.2 |
| Hypertension | 247.9 |
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