Last December, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued its 2014 update on heart disease and stroke statistics. It reported that over the decade of 2000-2010, the age-adjusted rate of cardiovascular deaths in the United States per 100,000 fell by 31% to 235.5, and the total number of such deaths in 2010 was 16.7% less than in 2000. Despite this good news, heart disease remains the largest single cause of death in America; about one death in six is attributable to heart disease. Almost 380,000 Americans die each year from coronary heart disease. Another 129,000 Americans die from strokes annually, the nation’s No. 4 cause of death. The Health Council of South Florida’s (HCSF) District 11 Health Profile indicates that in 2011, 26.0% of Miami-Dade deaths and 23.4% of Florida deaths were caused by heart disease. Strokes accounted for 4.7% of deaths in Miami-Dade and 4.8% of deaths in Florida.

 

The decline in deaths from cardiovascular disease reflects both advances in the use of medical and surgical treatments and changes in some cardiovascular risk factors: declines in smoking, lower systolic blood pressure, lower serum cholesterol, and increased physical activity. However, these improvements were offset in part by increases in the prevalence of overweight, obesity and diabetes mellitus. The following table compares the prevalence of selected risk factors as reported in Miami-Dade and Florida (2010) from the HCSF report with national data presented by the AHA:

 

                                                                              Miami-Dade      Florida   U.S.

Sedentary

(do not participate in leisure physical activities)       24.5%            24.9%    30%

Obese                                                                       28.1%           27.2%     26.7%

Overweight                                                               38.3               37.1%    41.3%

Current smokers                                                      10.2%            17.1%     26.5%

Diagnosed with diabetes mellitus                             9.0%             10.4%      8.3%

 

The same AHA report states that between 2000-2010 “the total number of inpatient cardiovascular operations and procedures increased by 28% to 7,588,000 per year. The total cost of cardiovascular disease and stroke is estimated to be $315.4 billion, about $114 billion more than the costs of all forms of cancer. These costs include health expenditures on physicians, hospitals, medications, and home health care and equipment, as well as lost productivity.” These costs are projected to continue to increase as more people live longer with this disease.

 

To reduce the growing burden of cardiovascular disease, it is essential to further improve cardiovascular health in our community and in our nation. The AHA has set its 2020 Impact Goal to address this major public health issue: “By 2020, to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20% while reducing death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20%” through both prevention and treatment. The AHA has constructed the “ideal cardiovascular health model” using seven metrics: smoking status, body mass index, nutritional intake, physical activity level, and levels of blood pressure, blood glucose, and total cholesterol. These indicators will be used to monitor the cardiovascular health of individuals, local communities, individual states, and the nation as a whole, ranking them as ideal, good, or poor, to facilitate the work of health practitioners, public health officials, researchers, advocates and policy makers.