WEDNESDAY, June 29, 2016 -- America's war on heart disease and stroke may have suffered a setback. A new study warns that the rate of decline in deaths from heart disease and stroke has stalled. "It is likely that the dual epidemics of obesity and diabetes, which began around 1985, are the major contributors to the deceleration in the decline of cardiovascular disease, heart disease and stroke death rates," said lead researcher Dr. Stephen Sidney. He is director of research clinics at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, in Oakland.