The leading causes of death of Stanly County residents are Heart Disease and Cancer (all sites). Although, according to the 2021 Stanly County Community Health Assessment (CHA), there is a disconnect between the causes of mortality and the CHA survey respondents' perceptions of major health problems in Stanly County. The survey respondents ranked Heart Disease at 7 and Cancer at 11 for major health problems. Respondents did, however, rank contributory health issues such as Obesity/Overweight (rank #2), Tobacco Use (rank #3), Inactivity/Lack of Physical Activity (rank #5), and Diabetes (rank #6) as major health problems (and higher than Heart Disease and Cancer). There is a direct link between the lack of physical activity and healthy eating and Tobacco Use with that of Heart Disease, Cancer, Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease, Cancer (of Trachea, Bronchus, Lung), Pneumonia, and Diabetes Mellitus, which are all in Stanly County's top 10 causes of mortality.