Cardiovascular disease is the nation’s No. 1 killer, but that may soon change in light of progress being made in reducing the death rate from heart attacks, new research suggests.

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The New York Times reports that the death rate from coronary heart disease fell about 38 percent from 2003 to 2013, according to the American Heart Association citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the primary federal agency that funds heart research, attributed the decline to better control of cholesterol and blood pressure, reduced smoking rates, improved medical treatments, and faster hospital care of people in the throes of a heart attack.

Hospitals in recent years have slashed the time it takes to clear a blockage in a patient’s arteries and get blood flowing again to the heart — a trend driven in part by a nationwide campaign led by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

“It may not be long before cardiovascular disease is no longer the leading cause of death,” said Dr. Michael Lauer, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.