In recent years, we’ve seen a remarkable decrease in the number of people dying from coronary heart disease in the United States.
A study from Rutgers published in the American Heart Journal showed that from 1990 to 2019, deaths from this condition fell from 397,623 to 236,953.
What makes this significant is that the drop occurred even as the median age of Americans rose from 33 to 38.
In fact, the death rate due to coronary heart disease per 100,000 people fell from 210.5 to 66.8 for females (a decrease of 4% per year), and from 442.4 to 156.7 for males (a decrease of 3.7% per year).
This trend, however, seems to be slowing down since 2011. Strikingly, those born after 1980 face a slightly higher risk of dying from coronary heart disease at any age compared to the previous generation.
This trend mirrors the findings from the same research team studying stroke-related deaths.
The Role of Lifestyle: Smoking, Drinking, and Obesity
What could be driving this worrying change? The researchers point to three major lifestyle factors: smoking, drinking, and obesity.
They suggest that if these three factors were eliminated, it could have prevented half of the heart disease deaths observed during the study period.
The picture is mixed when looking at these factors individually. On the bright side, smoking rates have dropped from 26% in 1990 to 14% in 2019.
Unfortunately, obesity rates have surged from 12% in 1990 to a staggering 43% in 2019. Alcohol usage has seen a slight increase over the period as well.
Medical Advances and the Way Forward
It’s not all down to lifestyle, though. Medical advances, such as cholesterol-lowering statins, better diagnostic tests, and more frequent use of these tests have all helped to drive down deaths from coronary heart disease.
In particular, two types of coronary heart disease, chronic ischemic heart disease and atherosclerotic heart disease, can be diagnosed and treated years before they damage the heart muscles.
The researchers hope that by studying past trends, they can help improve care in the future.
Using massive datasets from the National Center for Health Statistics, the researchers aim to identify the patients who face the highest risk of cardiovascular events and target interventions towards them.
High-Risk Groups and Future Research
In their upcoming study, the research team will focus on cardiovascular disease risk among pregnant patients, hoping to apply their findings to improve standards of care and public health priorities.
In conclusion, while there have been impressive strides in reducing deaths from heart disease, we can’t afford to rest on our laurels.
It’s crucial that we continue to target high-risk groups, promote lifestyle modifications, and make the most of medical advances to ensure that the progress made in fighting heart disease continues into the future.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about a breakfast linked to better blood vessel health, and olive oil could help lower risks of heart disease and stroke.
The study was published in American Heart Journal.
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