Statistisches Bundesamt: Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen häufigste Todesursache

Wiesbaden - According to the German Federal Statistical Office, cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in Germany. In 2025, the number of deaths from these diseases decreased by 1.5 percent, compared to the previous year, to 334,100, the office reported. The reduction over the past year, however, was even more significant at 6.7 percent.

Notable declines occurred in heart attacks (-15.2 percent) and cerebrovascular diseases, including strokes, hemorrhages, and infarcts (-6.3 percent). Prior to 2022, there had been an increase in these trends, but since then, there has been a downward trend. Among women, the decline in fatal heart attacks was more pronounced (-16.8 percent) than in men (-14.1 percent).

All age groups benefited from this decrease, with the largest reduction among those aged 80-85, at 30.6 percent. For cerebrovascular diseases, there was a 4.6 percent decrease in male deaths and a 7.7 percent decrease in female deaths since 2022. In total, approximately 1.01 million people died in Germany last year, a 0.1 percent decrease compared to the previous year.

This marks the third consecutive decline, the Federal Office announced. Cancer was the second leading cause of death in 2025, with 228,800 fatalities, followed by respiratory diseases with 81,200 deaths. Nearly two-thirds of all deaths (64 percent) were due to one of the three most common fatal disease groups. For women, the three leading causes of death were dementia (7.7 percent), chronic ischemic heart disease (5.8 percent), and heart failure (4.3 percent).

In men, the leading causes were chronic ischemic heart disease (7.7 percent), malignant tumors of the bronchus and lung (5.2 percent), and heart attack (4.8 percent).