Death: Causes and symptoms

As of 2001, the two leading causes of death for both men and women in the United States were heart disease and cancer. Accidental death was a distant third followed by such problems as stroke, chronic lung disorders, pneumonia, suicide, cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, and murder. The order of these causes of death varies among persons of different age, ethnicity, and gender.

— L. Fleming Fallon, Jr., MD, DrPH