What was the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in adults in 2022?

• A. 1 in 5 adults
• B. 1 in 15 adults
• C. 1 in 50 adults
• D. 1 in 100 adults

Answer: (B)

Understanding prevalence helps here: it’s the share of adults living with a disease at a specific time, not the number who develop it each year. For cardiovascular disease in 2022, the global estimates place the burden at about 6–7% of adults, which is roughly one in fifteen. That makes one in fifteen the best match, since it reflects how common CVD was across adults at that time.

The other options imply substantially higher or lower proportions than what these typical 2022 figures show. For example, one in five would be about 20% of adults, which is much higher than the commonly cited global prevalence; one in fifty or one in a hundred would indicate 2% or 1%—both lower than the widely reported range for adult CVD prevalence.

Keep in mind that exact numbers can vary by region, age range, and how cardiovascular disease is defined (for example, including coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure). But in the standard global context for 2022, about one in fifteen adults with CVD is the best fit.