About one in four deaths in the United States is caused by heart disease, making it a major public health issue. Heart disease rates vary a lot across the country, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These rates are affected by age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and environmental conditions.
The CDC has made an interactive atlas about heart disease and stroke to give people a better understanding of this health problem. Users can look at maps at the county level and see information about the rates of heart disease and stroke for different race and ethnic groups. With this information, we can find the Texas city with the highest rate of heart disease in the state.
The most people in Texas get heart disease
The CDC Atlas says that Cameron County, which is in the very southern part of Texas and borders Mexico, has the highest rate of heart disease in the state. There are about 423,000 people living in this county, and Brownsville is its biggest city.
According to the CDC Atlas, 233.9 out of every 100,000 people in Cameron County will die from heart disease between 2017 and 2019. During the same time period, this rate is much higher than the state average of 165.5 per 100,000 people and the national average of 165.0 per 100,000 people.
Also, more people die from heart disease in Cameron County than in any other county in Texas or nearby states like New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
Why there is such a high rate of heart disease?
The high risk of heart disease in Cameron County and Brownsville is caused by a number of things, such as
Demographics: About 89% of the people who live in Cameron County are Hispanic. The CDC says that Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to have heart disease risk factors like being overweight, having diabetes, or having high blood pressure.
Socioeconomic Status: The typical household income in Cameron County is $38,706, and 29.6% of people living there are living in poverty. This makes it one of the poorest counties in Texas. The CDC says that people with low incomes often have trouble getting medical care, healthy food, chances to be active, and tools that can help them avoid or deal with heart disease.
Conditions of the Environment: Because Cameron County is in an area that has high temperatures and humidity all year, its people have to deal with extreme heat. According to the CDC, this raises the chance of heat-related illnesses and deaths, especially for people who already have heart disease or other long-term conditions.
How to lower the number of people who get heart disease?
The high rate of heart disease in Cameron County and Brownsville needs to be fixed right away as a matter of public health. People, communities, and healthcare workers can all work together to lower the rate of heart disease and improve the quality of life for residents. Here are some methods that work:
Promoting Healthy Behaviors: People can lower their chance of heart disease by developing healthy habits like quitting smoking, eating a balanced diet, being physically active regularly, dealing with stress, and taking their medications as directed.
Increasing Access to Health Care: Communities can make it easier for low-income and uninsured people to get health care by expanding Medicaid coverage, supporting community health centers, offering more transportation options, and starting outreach and education programs.
Using Interventions Based on Evidence: Some interventions that have been shown to avoid or treat heart disease are controlling blood pressure, managing cholesterol, cardiac rehabilitation, and aspirin therapy. These can be used by healthcare professionals.
In Conclusion
Heart disease is the main cause of death in the US, and it has different effects on different areas. According to the CDC Atlas, Cameron County and Brownsville have the highest rates of heart disease in Texas. This high rate is probably caused by a mix of social, socioeconomic, and environmental factors that make people in the area more likely to get heart disease.
Still, people, communities, and healthcare workers can all do a lot to lower the number of people who get heart disease and improve the health of the people who live there. We can change the future for the better in Cameron County and Brownsville by being responsible.