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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Significant Differences in Heart Disease among
States and U.S. Territories
CDC Report provides first state-specific data on
heart disease
 Feb. 17, 2007 - The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) Friday released a report that provides the first ever
information on the percentage of people living with heart disease in all
50 states and U.S. territories. The report found that some states and
territories had double the prevalence of heart disease as others.
For
heart attacks, rates ranged from 2.1 percent in the U.S. Virgin Islands
to 6.1 percent in West Virginia, while the prevalence of any condition
heart attack, angina or coronary heart disease ranged from 3.5 percent
in the U.S. Virgin Islands to 10.4 percent in West Virginia.
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The CDC report finds a wide range of variation in
the prevalence of coronary heart disease (a narrowing of the arteries
that feed the heart), heart attack and angina (chest pain that occurs
when the heart does not get enough blood).
The study, Prevalence of Heart Disease United
States, 2005 was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The study is based on an analysis of state-specific data collected from
the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System a random phone survey
of U.S. adults age 18 and older conducted by state/territorial health
departments.
Overall, about 6.5 percent of those surveyed
reported that a doctor or health care professional had told them they
had one or more of the following heart attack, angina or coronary
heart disease with 4 percent indicating they had a heart attack and
4.4 percent reporting angina or coronary heart disease. Heart disease is
the leading cause of death in the United States.
These findings show the importance of preventing
and controlling known risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood
cholesterol, tobacco use, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, type
2 diabetes, and obesity, said Jonathan Neyer, the studys lead author
and an epidemiologist in CDCs Division for Heart Disease and Stroke
Prevention (DHDSP). We hope this report will help states and U.S.
territories better tailor their heart disease prevention efforts.
Worst States
Residents of Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia had
the highest prevalence of these heart diseases. Many of these states are
known to have a high proportion of residents with multiple heart disease
risk factors and a disproportionately high number of heart disease
deaths. The same was found among residents living in Puerto Rico.
Best States
The places reporting the lowest level of heart
disease prevalence were: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, New Mexico,
Montana, Minnesota, Utah, Hawaii, Colorado, District of Columbia and the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
Gender & Racial Differences
The report also identified gender and racial/ethnic
differences in heart disease prevalence. Men had a significantly higher
prevalence than women (8.2 percent vs. 5 percent) for coronary heart
disease or non-fatal heart attack, and angina. American Indians/Alaska
Natives had the highest heart disease prevalence (11.2 percent) and
Asians had the lowest prevalence (4.7 percent). There was little
difference in heart disease prevalence among whites (6.9 percent),
blacks (6.2 percent) or Hispanics (6.2 percent).
The report also identified differences in
prevalence based on educational levels. Heart disease prevalence was
nearly twice as high in individuals with fewer than 12 years of
education (9.8 percent) compared to college graduates (5 percent).
CDC works with nearly 80 national organizations
through the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention to
achieve national goals for preventing heart disease and stroke. Funding
is provided to state health departments in 32 states and the District of
Columbia to support educational programs, policies, environmental
strategies and systems changes that address heart disease.
CDCs WISEWOMAN program funds 15 projects across
the country that provides low income, underinsured and uninsured women
(aged 40-64 years) with risk factor screening, lifestyle intervention
strategies and referral services.
For more information about heart disease, please
visit the Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Preventions Web site at
www.cdc.gov/dhdsp.
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