CDC: 200,000 avoidable deaths from cardiovascular disease

(HealthDay)—There were about 200,000 avoidable deaths from cardiovascular disease in 2010 in the United States, with deaths occurring disproportionately among those over 65 years old, males, non-Hispanic blacks, and those in the South, according to a report published in the Sept. 3 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Linda J. Schieb, M.S.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed avoidable deaths from cardiovascular disease in the United States using 2001 to 2010 mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System.

The researchers found that there were 200,070 avoidable deaths from heart disease, stroke, and hypertensive disease in 2010 (age-standardized death rate, 60.7 per 100,000). Although the highest death rates were among those 65 to 74 years old, 56 percent of deaths occurred in people under 65 years old. Avoidable deaths occurred disproportionately among males, non-Hispanic blacks, and in the South. The overall rate of avoidable deaths fell by 29 percent over the study period, but the decline was slower among those under 65 years old.

"Nearly one-fourth of all cardiovascular disease deaths are avoidable," Schieb and colleagues conclude. "National, state, and local initiatives aimed at improving health-care systems and supporting healthy behaviors are essential to reducing avoidable heart disease, stroke, and hypertensive disease deaths."

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