Coronary heart disease has been cited as the leading cause of death in the U.S. More recently, in a new update by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), experts have notified that the total number of individuals from America to have reported coronary heart disease seems to have declined with variations found in different states and ethnic groups.
From 2006 to 2010, the number of people in the United States who have visited a health care practitioner for coronary heart disease has dropped from 6.7% to 6%, as reported. This decline has been observed probably because high-risk populations such as smokers, those with uncontrolled blood pressure and high blood cholesterol has reduced in number. Also, the advancements in therapeutic options for coronary heart disease could be a contributing factor.
In spite of this reducing trend, coronary heart disease is still one of the major causes of mortality in the U.S. The maximum rates of self-reported coronary heart disease has been seemingly found in older people aged 65 or above, American Indians and Alaska natives. The information comes from CDC′s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). It is a study conducted over the phone among adults aged 18 and more, every year.
“Where you live and how you live matters to your heart. The Million Hearts national initiative, which can prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years, focuses on actions people can take themselves and actions that businesses, communities and health providers can take to prevent heart attacks and strokes today,” explained CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
Scientists believe that the ABCS namely aspirin for people at risk, blood pressure control, cholesterol management and smoking cessation are supposed to be exercised in the U.S. This is not the case as only a small number of the population adhere to these guidelines. The team concludes that everyone is susceptible to coronary heart disease, however older people, natives from Alaska and those from an American Indian origin are presumably at higher risk.
The study is published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.