Deaths caused by heart attacks and strokes have declined by about 30 percent since 1999 most probably due to better control of cholesterol and blood pressure, declining smoking and better medical treatments, the American Heart Association says in a report released on Monday. The report was done with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

Overall, 829,072 Americans died of heart attack and stroke in 2006, 34.2 percent of the total, or 1 in every 2.9 deaths, the report says. Nearly 2,400 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day, an average of one death every 37 seconds.

“The 30% reduction is incredibly good news,” Don Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScM, lead author of the report, said.

Should the trend in deaths hold, there may by a 36 percent decline in heart attacks and 34 percent decline in strokes, in which case about 240,000 lives will have been saved in 2008.

However, cardiovascular disease remains a major health issue affecting one in three Americans and the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. And the number of people dying of heart disease might grow considering the fact that more Americans than ever are sedentary and obese than ever before.

AHA President Dr. Timothy Gardner said in an association news release, “our work isn’t done, since the major risk factors for heart disease and stroke have not seen the same declines as the death rates, and several [risk factor] are rising.”

For example, while average cholesterol levels for men 40 and older and women 60 and older dropped from 204 mg/dL to 199 mg/dL between 1999 and 2006, little change was seen for other age groups, the study found.

Exercise isn’t either something Americans do on regular basis. Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of adults reported no vigorous daily activity lasting at least 10 minutes in the 2006 National Health Interview Survey. That is the minimum recommendation for heart-strengthening exercise.

Obesity, another risk for heart attack and stroke is also climbing. The percentage of children in the 95th percentile for obesity rose from 4 percent in 1971-74 to 17 percent in 2003-06. In adolescents 12 to 19, obesity rates increased from 6.1 percent to 17.6 percent in the same time frame.

Given the circumstances, it’s no wonder that diabetes rates are also rising, boosting rates of cardiovascular disease and consequently, heart attacks and strokes. Lloyd-Jones warned that people who are obese or have diabetes aren’t aware of the risks they are exposing too. They continue to consume far too many calories, don’t do enough physical activity to shed out the extra pounds and “the net change is going to be a heavier and heavier nation.”

The study findings were published online December 15 in the AHA journal Circulation.