Welcome to brain Stuff. From How Stuff Works. Benjamin Franklin famously said nothing certain but death and taxes, and so far he's been half right. Hi, I'm Christian Sager, not Ben Franklin. Spoiler alert, that guy's dead. And this is the brain Stuff where we look at mortality, the big Sleep, the end of the house party called life. Barring some astonishing medical breakthrough, we're all going to croak, you, me, even Nicholas Cage and unfortunately our producer Dylan. But how
there are a few ways to approach this question. First, should we look at the deaths in a specific country like the US or say China. While we can pull some interesting statistics from a more narrowly defined study, doing so means we're essentially ignoring the rest of the world. So let's take a shot at the big Cahuna of mortality studies, the Global Statistics on death. In the most recent database available, found just five conditions were responsible for
of annual deaths. Can you guess which one led the pack? If you thought something about heart disease, then congratulations, you are correct. You're still going to die, but always remember you died a winner. Cardiovascular diseases wiped out and estimated seventeen point five million people in two thousand twelve, accounting for thirty one percent of all deaths. Of these fatalities, seven point four million were due to coronary heart disease
and six point seven million were due to stroke. Specifically, that's s schemic heart disease, wherein there's a reduced blood supply to the heart. The most common cause of schemic heart disease is atherosclerosis. That's where a plaque made of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances builds up within your arteries. Eventually, dis gunk hardens, reducing the amount of blood that can run through your system, and this means less delicious necessary oxygen
reaches your organs. While some causes of death, such as AIDS, have declined over time, heart disease is on the rise. Why will. According to the World Health Organization, behavioral factors play a huge role in this affliction. Smoking, drinking too much booze, obesity, and a lack of physical activity can all contribute to the most unpleasant and perhaps final surprise of your life. Fortunately, experts around the globe are tackling
this problem together. The member states of WHO that's the World Health Organization are working to achieve the goals created in the oh so suavely named Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non Communicable Diseases WHO. While the title doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, the concept is worthwhile. In the U s Alone, one out of every four deaths are caused by heart disease, and many
people don't recognize the symptoms. Sure, one day we may be able to replace our bodies or upload our minds to the Internet, but for now, the one body you have is the only one you're going to get, so for now, take care of it. Check out the brainstuff channel on YouTube, and for more on this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.