The cost of heart disease and stroke for businesses in the United States, including health care expenditures and lost productivity from deaths and disability, is tremendous and the problem continues to grow.

No other disease is as detrimental to American health and welfare as cardiovascular disease. At any given time, more than 80 million people are affected by some form of cardiovascular disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that heart disease is the nation’s leading cause of death, and stroke ranks as number three. The economic implications of cardiovascular disease are just as grave as the health consequences. The cost of heart disease and stroke for businesses in the United States, including health care expenditures and lost productivity from deaths and disability, is tremendous and the problem continues to grow.

Over the past two years, the Detroit Free Press has honored more than 100 businesses in southeast Michigan as Top Workplaces as assessed by the people who know best: their employees.