28 Mar Highest Heart Disease Death Rates Shift From Northeast to Deep South

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Michele Casper, PhD
Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
CDC, Atlanta, GA 3034

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Casper: CDC closely monitors trends in heart disease and this study is the latest in that ongoing effort. Overall, we found substantial disparities in heart disease death rates based on geography, as well as a significant geographic shift in high death rates from heart disease since 1973.

Initially, counties with the highest rates were concentrated in the Northeast. By the end of the study period, those high-rate clusters had shifted primarily to southern counties. In addition, our research revealed that the counties with the slowest declines were mostly found in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, while the fastest declines were largely in the northern half of the country.

These findings are important because they reveal patterns that are masked at the national level and highlight the importance of examining geography – and the characteristics of where people live – in relation to heart disease mortality rates. The consistent progression southward over the past few decades suggests that the pattern is not random – and could be attributed to geographic differences in community-level prevention and treatment opportunities.

MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Casper: The findings can help clinicians and patients better understand the geographic context within which they live. For those healthcare professionals practicing in counties with the heaviest burden of heart disease, it is especially important for them to connect their patients with heart disease prevention and treatment opportunities and support systems. They can also work within the healthcare system to make more prevention and treatment opportunities available.

For example, they could emphasize the strategies recommended by Million Hearts®, national initiative aimed at preventing one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Improving health-related disparities is a key tenet of the initiative.

On an individual level, patients can look for opportunities to improve their heart health, such as: exercising regularly; quitting smoking; treating related conditions like hypertension and high cholesterol; and adopting a healthy diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables and low in added sugar and sodium. In addition, they can use these findings to learn more about heart-healthy opportunities – and limitations – within their community.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Casper: This study didn’t focus on the factors behind the declines. To answer that question we need to take a holistic approach that examines the geographic patterns in many economic, social and health policies over time– and then analyze the implications for changes in the prevalence of heart disease risk factors, heart healthy living and working conditions, and access to healthcare. Examining the factors behind the geographic disparities in heart disease death rates is an area for future research.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Dr. Casper: Despite the overall drop in mortality rates, heart disease remains the leading cause of death and a major cause of disability in the U.S. Heart disease-related deaths are largely preventable, and with targeted public health efforts, it’s possible to alleviate much of the heavy burden of this disease and close the geographic gap in declining death rates.

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:

Changes in the Geographic Patterns of Heart Disease Mortality in the United States: 1973 to 2010

Michele Casper, Michael R. Kramer, Harrison Quick, Linda J. Schieb, Adam S. Vaughan, and Sophia Greer

Circulation. 2016;133:1171-1180,doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.018663

Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.

More Medical Research Interviews on MedicalResearch.com

Michele Casper, PhD (2016). Highest Heart Disease Death Rates Shift From Northeast to Deep South MedicalResearch.com

Last Updated on March 28, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD