US Average Life Expectancy Rises Again - East Idaho News
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US Average Life Expectancy Rises Again

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GETTY 12714 80YO?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1389092726267efesan/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) — It was good to be born in 2009, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims.

Health experts say that the average life expectancy of Americans born in 2009 is now 78.5 years, a new record. By gender, a male’s life expectancy rose a half-year from 2008 to 76 while women can expect to live 80.9 years, up from 80.6

Americans are living longer, the CDC says, because of improvements in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, the nation’s number one killer.

Meanwhile, each of America’s three dominant races also showed modest gains among those born in 2009 with whites’ life expectancy now at 78.8 years, Hispanics at 81.2 years and blacks averaging 74.5 years.

Nonetheless, life expectancy in the U.S. is still ranked around 30th behind other industrialized nations with Japan and Switzerland leading the way.

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