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Heart
Disease and Stroke
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Reduce
heart disease death rates.
Target:
219.8 deaths per 100,000 population.
Baseline, 1996-1998: 274.7 heart disease deaths per 100,000
population (age adjusted to the year 2000 U.S. standard population).
Target Setting Method: 20 percent improvement.
Reduce
stroke death rates.
Target:
61.0 deaths per 100,000 population.
Baseline, 1996-1998: 76.2 stroke deaths per 100,000 population
(age adjusted to the year 2000 U.S. standard population).
Target Setting Method: 20 percent improvement.
Increase
the proportion of adults who have had their cholesterol checked
within the preceding five years.
Target:
90.9 percent.
Baseline, 1995, 1997, 1999: 79.1 percent of adults ages
18 years and older had their blood cholesterol checked within
the preceding 5 years.
Target Setting Method: 15 percent improvement.
Increase
the proportion of adults who have had their blood pressure measured
within the last year.
Target:
95 percent.
Baseline, 1995,1997, 1999: 88.9 percent of adults ages
18 years and older had their blood pressure measured in the past
year.
Target Setting Method: Better than the best.
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Chronic
Disease - Heart Disease and Stroke
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general
term used to describe all diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
CVD includes conditions such as heart attack and other coronary heart
diseases (narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries); stroke
(interruption of blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain due to
blockage or bleeding of the arteries); hypertension (high blood pressure);
congestive heart failure; congenital heart problems; other heart diseases;
and other conditions affecting blood vessels throughout the body.
Heart disease is the leading cause of
death in North Carolina and the United States for men and women
of every race. Stroke is the third leading cause of death. The decline
in heart disease and stroke deaths over the past 30 years has slowed
during the 1990’s. In fact, stroke death rates have remained
nearly flat, with little or no improvement, since about 1992. The
coastal plains region of North Carolina has some of the very highest
stroke death rates in the entire nation. This region in North Carolina,
along with counties in South Carolina and Georgia, has been called
the "Buckle" of the Stroke Belt. In addition, heart disease
and stroke are both major causes of hospitalizations and disability,
and account for a significant proportion of health care costs. Each
year 22,000 North Carolinians ages 45-64 are hospitalized for a
heart attack for the first time. Stroke is the leading cause of
serious, long-term disability in the nation, and likely in North
Carolina as well. The aging of North Carolina’s population
is likely to increase the incidence of CVD in North Carolina and
may further slow or reverse the decades-long downward trend in death
rates. North Carolina’s high prevalence rates of major behavioral
risk factors also portend further reversals in the progress made.
For example: 80 percent of the adult population in North Carolina
do not get the recommended amount of physical activity each day.
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Disparities
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There are significant and growing disparities
between African American/Blacks and Whites in North Carolina for CVD
deaths, hospitalizations, and risk factors. While hard data are lacking
for other minority groups, American Indians, Hispanics/Latinos, and
African American/Blacks appear to suffer disproportionately from diabetes,
a major risk factor for CVD. More women die of CVD than any other
cause. Being over the age of 65 is a risk factor for CVD. North Carolinians
with lower household incomes have a higher prevalence of risk factors
for CVD, including sedentary lifestyle, being overweight, and having
diabetes. |
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Determinants/Risk
Factors
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Elevated blood cholesterol; elevated blood
pressure; family history of heart disease, blood pressure, high cholesterol,
and stroke; diabetes; lack of early detection and treatment; overweight/obesity;
physical inactivity; diet high in fat and sodium; and tobacco use |
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NC Data
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| Chronic
Disease - Heart Disease and Stroke |
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