Cardiovascular is a broad disease category encompassing a variety of different indications, the most important of which is heart disease. 20 million cases of heart disease are reported annually, making it the number one cause of morbidity in the United States. Prior to the identification of any form of heart disease, vital signs monitoring is prescribed as a diagnostic tool for individuals exhibiting specified symptoms. It also plays an important role in the evaluation of ongoing treatment for diagnosed heart patients.

Heart disease is prevalent among the elderly population than among any other group. Of the 1,728,872 deaths in the age 65-and-over population in 1997, 606,913 deaths were caused by heart disease, a figure that also represents a large portion of the 726,974 deaths from heart disease in the general population that year. There are currently 35 million people over the age of 65 in the United States, and by 2030, that number is anticipated to grow to 51.4 million, with 7.1 million of those individuals over the age of 85. 73% of the elderly population receives some form of home healthcare, with 1.4 million elderly persons living in nursing homes.