Millions of people and their families are affected by heart disease, which is a major cause of death and disability in the United States. Heart disease became the top cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was responsible for 23.1% of all deaths. Despite this, heart disease is not evenly spread across regions. This is because of things like socioeconomic standing, access to healthcare, lifestyle choices, and environmental factors.
How do you figure out the rate of heart disease?
A way to figure out how common heart disease is in a community is to look at the death rates that are adjusted for age. This statistical method levels the playing field by taking into account the different age structures of groups, which makes them more similar. How to find the age-adjusted death rate? The age-specific death rates of a group are applied to a standard age distribution, like the U.S. 2000 standard population.
Another way to find out how common heart disease is is to look at the percentage of people who say they have been told by a doctor that they have coronary heart disease or angina, which is chest pain or discomfort caused by low blood flow to the heart. This self-reported measure shows how many people have been diagnosed with heart disease and how much they know about it.
Which place in California has the most heart disease?
The County Health Status Profiles 2021 report from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said that, with 217.8 deaths per 100,000 people, San Bernardino had the highest age-adjusted death rate from heart disease in California. This rate was much higher than the state average of 151.2 per 100,000 people and more than twice the national goal of 103.4 per 100,000 people set by Healthy People 2030.
Fresno had the highest number of adults in California who said they had coronary heart disease or angina (7.9%). This number was much higher than the state average of 4.3% and higher than the national goal of Healthy People 2030, which was 4.0%.
What are some possible reasons for these high rates?
There are a number of possible reasons why heart disease rates are so high in these places, such as:
Socioeconomic Status: People with low incomes and little schooling often have higher rates of heart disease because it’s harder for them to get good medical care, preventative services, and healthy foods. Stress, racism, and violence can make their mental and physical health even worse.
Lifestyle Habits: Risk factors that can be changed, like smoking, not being active, eating poorly, being overweight, having diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, are very important in heart disease. The decisions people make and the availability of healthy options affect these behaviors.
Exposures to the Environment: Toxic chemicals, air pollution, noise pollution, and extreme temperatures can all raise the chance of heart disease by hurting blood vessels and causing inflammation and oxidative stress.
How can we stop and lower the risk of heart disease?
The good news is that heart disease can usually be avoided or treated if it is found early and handled properly. Some important methods for preventing and reducing include
Improving Access to Health Care: Making it easier for people who are at risk or who have heart problems to get good health care and preventative services like screening tests, medications, counseling, and recommendations.
Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Promoting healthy lifestyles means encouraging healthy habits and environments, such as quitting smoking, being active, eating well, controlling weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and lowering stress.
Policy Implementation: Putting in place policies and programs that support heart health on many levels, such as laws against smoking and food labeling, as well as guidelines for physical exercise, air quality standards, safety rules at work, and community design interventions.
In conclusion
Heart disease is a big problem for public health in California and across the United States. Still, the rates of heart disease are different in different parts of California and among different groups of people. Cities like San Bernardino and Fresno have extremely high rates of heart disease. These rates are caused by a lot of different things, such as socioeconomic status, lifestyle choices, and environmental exposures. To stop this epidemic, we need to look at a lot of different things, from people’s choices to the rules and regulations of society, in order to make communities healthier and happier.