Brace yourself for this super scary wake-up call: The American Heart Association (AHA) projects that cases of heart failure will increase 46 percent by 2030, according to an announcement made last week. That's eight million instances of heart failure per year, compared to the five million that happen today. Experts also predict that Americans will end up paying $244 per person annually to care for people with the condition, thanks to higher insurance rates and taxes.

"It's primarily a disease of older patients, and the mean age of the population is going to increase greatly over the next 20 years," says Paul Heidenreich, MD, assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University, who led the analysis. All of the estimates were made based on population projections from the Census Bureau, says Heidenreich. Experts assumed that other, harder to predict factors—such as medical innovations, care, and the population's general health habits—would remain the same.

"If we have more obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, then we would expect even more heart failure," says Heidenreich.

Want to make sure you don't end up as one of those eight million? "People need to be aware of their blood pressure and cholesterol, look at those things early," says Heidenreich. "Aside from being active and having a good diet, help the important people in your life achieve those things as well. You can take care of yourself, but if everyone else is declining around you, how much good is it going to do you?"

These tips, recipes, exercises, and more will help protect your heart—and keep costs down for everyone:

4 Ways to Prevent Heart Disease in Women

Heart-Healthy Recipes

The Keep-Your-Heart Pumping Workout

Heart Health Numbers You Need to Know

5 Steps to a Healthy Heart

The Most Prescribed Heart Medicines