The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) today released a report that 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 report 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.
The study, Prevalence of Heart Disease - United States, 2005, was
published in today's 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 study's lead author and an
epidemiologist in CDC's 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."
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.
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.
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. CDC's 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 Prevention's Web site at cdc/dhdsp.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
cdc/dhdsp