Coronary Disease Declines in US
October 13, 2011 (Atlanta, Georgia) — Age-adjusted coronary heart disease prevalence in the US declined by about 10% between 2006 and 2010, new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show [ 1 ].
In an article in the October 14, 2011 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC reports that the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System shows that age-adjusted coronary disease prevalence dropped from 6.7% in 2006 to 6% in 2010.
Improvements were seen in men and women of all ages and all education groups. By ethnicity, the most progress was seen in whites (6.4% to 5.8%) and Hispanics (6.9% to 6.1%), but the changes in other ethnic groups were not statistically significant. American Indians/Alaskan natives have the worst rates of CHD among the ethnic groups analyzed (11.6%), followed by blacks (6.5%), Hispanics, whites, and Asians or native Hawaiians/other Pacific islanders (3.9%).
As of 2010, the prevalence of CHD was 19.8% in people over 65, 7.1% in people 45 to 64 years old, and 1.2% in younger adults. CHD was more common in men than women (7.8% vs 4.6%) and more common among those with less than a high school education (9.2%) than high school graduates (6.7%) or those with a college degree (4.6%).
The CDC points out that the ongoing improvements in treatment of coronary disease tend to increase the prevalence of the disease as patients live longer, so the decline in CHD prevalence is further evidence that the population with major risk factors—uncontrolled hypertension, uncontrolled high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and smoking—is shrinking.
Dr. Tim Norcross
