Americans live longer due in large part to the surging use of improved medical technology, according to a national report released on Wednesday.
Advanced medical technology also drives down rates of major killers such as heart disease and cancer, said the annual report issued by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Americans are living longer than ever before -- 77.9 years on average, according to the report.
Improved medical technology has become a driving force of the nation's medical system. The report found, for instance, that the rate of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and computed and positron emission tomography (CT/PET) scans tripled from 1996 to 2007.
Knee replacements, the report found, increased 70 percent in the past decade. And organ transplants also became more common. The number of kidney transplants per one million people increased 31 percent, for example, and the number of liver transplants increased 42 percent.
Although Americans live longer than ever before, many Americans are still troubled by excessive weight, insufficient exercise and lack of insurance, the report warned.
The use and misuse of medical technology may also be a factor behind the ever-increasing cost of health care, said the report.
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