Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. During 2002, nearly 700,000 individuals in the US died of heart disease.(1) Of these deaths, approximately 500,000 are the result of ischemic coronary heart disease, with 47% of these individuals dying before emergency services or transport to a hospital could occur. Fifty-one percent of those dying of heart disease are women.(2, 3) Heart disease is the leading cause of death for most American ethnic groups, including whites, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaskan Natives. Discouragingly, heart disease death rates are 30% higher in African Americans compared with whites.(2) The projected cost for the immense burden of heart disease in the US during 2006 was between $143 and $258 billion, including health care services, medications, and lost productivity.(4, 5)
Risk factors for the development of atherosclerotic disease are unfortunately widespread in the US population. Indeed, between 1999 and 2000, approximately 30% of individuals aged 20 years or older had diagnosed hypertension or were taking antihypertensive medication, 17% had high blood cholesterol, 6.5% were diabetic, 30.5% were obese, and more than 21% smoked cigarettes. Moreover, more than 37% reported no leisure-time physical activity.(2) In 2003, approximately 37% of American adults reported having 2 or more of these risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Ninety percent of patients with ischemic coronary artery disease have at least one atherosclerotic risk factor.(6)
With these grim statistics in mind, the report of King et al in this issue of The American Journal of Medicine is very disturbing.(7) Despite vigorous efforts on the part of national and local health authorities and organizations such as the American Heart Association, the incidence of atherosclerotic arterial disease risk factors has actually increased in recent years. King et al compared 5 major atherosclerotic risk factors…
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— Joseph S. Alpert, MD
Editor-in-Chief, The American Journal of Medicine
This article was originally published in the June 2009 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
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