Heart Ills Still Top Killer

Cardiovascular disease is still by far the most common cause of death in the United States, killing almost 1 million annually in spite of advances in research and treatment, the American Heart Assn. says. In its annual “Heart Facts” study, the association said an average of 4,100 Americans suffer heart attacks every day and predicted that about 550,000 of the 1.5 million Americans who have heart attacks this year will die--350,000 of them before they reach a hospital. The study estimates the annual cost of cardiovascular illness at $72.1 billion for 1985. Much of that cost will be for hospital and nursing home services--$43.7 billion.