The number of deaths from heart disease has been increasing in the United States as the percentage of individuals over the age of 65 has risen, according to new figures that take into account the ageing population.
Latest figures from the American Heart Association have shown that a fifth of the US population (58.8 million Americans) currently has cardiovascular disease. The association said that its most recent projections-reflecting new statistical formulas designed to adjust for the ageing population-indicate that the burden from cardiovascular disease is increasing. The findings are part of the association's 1999 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update, the latest report in an annual series on cardiovascular disease statistics.
According to the new standards, death rates are adjusted to the anticipated age distribution of the US population in the year 2000, based on a weighting that reflects the number of people in each 10 year age grouping. The old standard of adjusting for age used the age distribution of the population of 1940 as a baseline. The US population projection for the year 2000 includes many more older people than the 1940 figure, and, as a result, the incidence of deaths from heart disease adjusted to the year 2000 is much higher than when adjusted to the 1940 standard.
The death rate from coronary artery disease was 187.1 deaths per 100000 in 1996, according to the new death rate calculations. The old calculation, using the 1940 population weighting, was only 86.7 deaths per 100000. This does not indicate that the number of deaths from heart disease has doubled, but simply reflects the change in calculation methods. As the incidence of death from heart disease has been gradually increasing as the percentage of people over 65 has increased, the new standard will provide a more realistic picture of the mortality from heart disease and will reflect the impact of an ageing population.
Among the report's other findings, nearly one in five cardiovascular deaths is attributable to smoking and more than half of all American adults have above average total cholesterol concentrations, defined as 200 g/l or higher. The cost of cardiovascular disease in 1999 was estimated at $286.5bn (£179bn) -about $12bn higher than last year.
Figure.
The new standard provides a more realistic picture of heart disease