Table 1.
Leading Causes of Death, United States, 2008
| Cause of Death | n |
|---|---|
| Total deaths | 2471984 |
| Diseases of the heart | 616828 |
| Malignant neoplasms | 565469 |
| Chronic lower-respiratory diseases | 141090 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases | 134148 |
| Accidents (unintentional injuries) | 121902 |
| Alzheimer disease | 82435 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 70553 |
| Influenza and pneumonia | 56284 |
| Nephritis: nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis | 48237 |
| Intentional self-harm (suicide) | 36035 |
| Septicemia | 35927 |
| Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis | 29963 |
| Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease | 25742 |
| Parkinson disease | 20483 |
| Assault (homicide) | 17826 |
| All other causes | 469062 |
Source: Minino et al.1