| Age-adjusted rates | Used mainly to compare the rates of ≥2 communities or population groups or the nation as a whole over time. The American Heart Association (AHA) uses a standard population (2000), so these rates are not affected by changes or differences in the age composition of the population. Unless otherwise noted, all death rates in this publication are age adjusted per 100 000 population and are based on underlying cause of death. |
| Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) | A part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, this is the lead agency charged with supporting research designed to improve the quality of health care, reduce the cost of health care, improve patient safety, decrease the number of medical errors, and broaden access to essential services. The AHRQ sponsors and conducts research that provides evidence-based information on healthcare outcomes, quality, cost, use, and access. The information helps healthcare decision makers (patients, clinicians, health system leaders, and policy makers) make more informed decisions and improve the quality of healthcare services. The AHRQ conducts the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS; ongoing). |
| Bacterial endocarditis | An infection of the heart’s inner lining (endocardium) or of the heart valves. The bacteria that most often cause endocarditis are streptococci, staphylococci, and enterococci. |
| Body mass index (BMI) | A mathematical formula to assess body weight relative to height. The measure correlates highly with body fat. It is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters (kg/m2). |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics (CDC/NCHS) | CDC is an agency within the US Department
of Health and Human Services. The CDC conducts the Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), an ongoing survey. The CDC/NCHS
conducts or has conducted these surveys (among others):
|
| Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, formerly Health Care Financing Administration | The federal agency that administers the Medicare, Medicaid, and Child Health Insurance programs. |
| Comparability ratio | Provided by the NCHS/CDC to allow time-trend analysis from one International Classification of Diseases (ICD) revision to another. It compensates for the “shifting” of deaths from one causal code number to another. Its application to mortality based on one ICD revision means that mortality is “comparability modified” to be more comparable to mortality coded to the other ICD revision. |
| Coronary heart disease (CHD) (ICD-10 codes I20–I25) | This category includes acute myocardial infarction (I21–I22), other acute ischemic (coronary) heart disease (I24), angina pectoris (I20), atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (I25.0), and all other forms of chronic ischemic (coronary) heart disease (I25.1–I25.9). |
| Death rate | The relative frequency with which death occurs within some specified interval of time in a population. National death rates are computed per 100 000 population. Dividing the total number of deaths by the total population gives a crude death rate for the total population. Rates calculated within specific subgroups, such as age-specific or sex-specific rates, are often more meaningful and informative. They allow well-defined subgroups of the total population to be examined. Unless otherwise stated, all death rates in this publication are age adjusted and are per 100 000 population. |
| Diseases of the circulatory system (ICD codes I00–I99) | Included as part of what the AHA calls “cardiovascular disease” (“Total cardiovascular disease” in this Glossary). |
| Diseases of the heart | Classification the NCHS uses in compiling the leading causes of death. Includes acute rheumatic fever/chronic rheumatic heart diseases (I00–I09), hypertensive heart disease (I11), hypertensive heart and renal disease (I13), CHD (I20–I25), pulmonary heart disease and diseases of pulmonary circulation (I26–I28), heart failure (I50), and other forms of heart disease (I29–I49, I50.1–I51). “Diseases of the heart” are not equivalent to “total cardiovascular disease,” which the AHA prefers to use to describe the leading causes of death. |
| Health Care Financing Administration | See Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. |
| Hispanic origin | In US government statistics, “Hispanic” includes people who trace their ancestry to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Dominican Republic, or other Spanish cultures, regardless of race. It does not include people from Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad, Belize, or Portugal, because Spanish is not the first language in those countries. Most of the data in this update are for Mexican Americans or Mexicans, as reported by government agencies or specific studies. In many cases, data for all Hispanics are more difficult to obtain. |
| Hospital discharges | The number of inpatients (including newborn infants) discharged from short-stay hospitals for whom some type of disease was the first-listed diagnosis. Discharges include those discharged alive, dead, or “status unknown.” |
| International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes | A classification system in standard use in the United States. The International Classification of Diseases is published by the World Health Organization. This system is reviewed and revised approximately every 10 to 20 years to ensure its continued flexibility and feasibility. The 10th revision (ICD-10) began with the release of 1999 final mortality data. The ICD revisions can cause considerable change in the number of deaths reported for a given disease. The NCHS provides “comparability ratios” to compensate for the “shifting” of deaths from one ICD code to another. To compare the number or rate of deaths with that of an earlier year, the “comparability-modified” number or rate is used. |
| Incidence | An estimate of the number of new cases of a disease that develop in a population, usually in a 1-year period. For some statistics, new and recurrent attacks, or cases, are combined. The incidence of a specific disease is estimated by multiplying the incidence rates reported in community- or hospital-based studies by the US population. The rates in this report change only when new data are available; they are not computed annually. |
| Major cardiovascular diseases | Disease classification commonly reported by the NCHS; represents ICD codes I00 to I78. The AHA does not use “major cardiovascular diseases” for any calculations. See “Total cardiovascular disease” in this Glossary. |
| Metabolic syndrome | Metabolic syndrome is defined* as the presence of any 3 of the following 5 diagnostic measures: Elevated waist circumference (≥102 cm in males or ≥88 cm in females), elevated triglycerides (≥150 mg/dL [1.7 mmol/L] or drug treatment for elevated triglycerides), reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (<40 mg/dL [0.9 mmol/L] in males, <50 mg/dL [1.1 mmol/L] in females, or drug treatment for reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), elevated blood pressure (≥130 mm Hg systolic blood pressure, ≥85 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure, or drug treatment for hypertension), and elevated fasting glucose (≥100 mg/dL or drug treatment for elevated glucose). |
| Morbidity | Incidence and prevalence rates are both measures of morbidity (ie, measures of various effects of disease on a population). |
| Mortality | Mortality data for states can be obtained from the NCHS Web site (http://cdc.gov/nchs/), by direct communication with the CDC/NCHS, or from the AHA on request. The total number of deaths attributable to a given disease in a population during a specific interval of time, usually 1 year, are reported. These data are compiled from death certificates and sent by state health agencies to the NCHS. The process of verifying and tabulating the data takes ≈2 years. |
| National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) | An institute in the National Institutes of
Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services. The NHLBI
conducts such studies as the following:
|
| National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) | An institute in the National Institutes of
Health of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The NINDS
sponsors and conducts research studies such as these:
|
| Physical activity | Any bodily movement produced by the contraction of skeletal muscle that increases energy expenditure above a basal level. |
| Physical fitness | The ability to perform daily tasks with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with ample energy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and respond to emergencies. Physical fitness includes a number of components consisting of cardiorespiratory endurance (aerobic power), skeletal muscle endurance, skeletal muscle strength, skeletal muscle power, flexibility, balance, speed of movement, reaction time, and body composition. |
| Prevalence | An estimate of the total number of cases of a disease existing in a population during a specified period. Prevalence is sometimes expressed as a percentage of population. Rates for specific diseases are calculated from periodic health examination surveys that government agencies conduct. Annual changes in prevalence as reported in this Statistical Update reflect changes in the population size. Changes in rates can be evaluated only by comparing prevalence rates estimated from surveys conducted in different years. Note: In the data tables, which are located in the different disease and risk factor chapters, if the percentages shown are age adjusted, they will not add to the total. |
| Race and Hispanic origin | Race and Hispanic origin are reported separately on death certificates. In this publication, unless otherwise specified, deaths of people of Hispanic origin are included in the totals for whites, blacks, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and Asian or Pacific Islanders according to the race listed on the decedent’s death certificate. Data for Hispanic people include all people of Hispanic origin of any race. See “Hispanic origin” in this Glossary. |
| Stroke (ICD-10 codes I60–I69) | This category includes subarachnoid hemorrhage (I60); intra-cerebral hemorrhage (I61); other nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage (I62); cerebral infarction (I63); stroke, not specified as hemorrhage or infarction (I64); occlusion and stenosis of precerebral arteries not resulting in cerebral infarction (I65); occlusion and stenosis of cerebral arteries not resulting in cerebral infarction (I66); other cerebrovascular diseases (I67); cerebrovascular disorders in diseases classified elsewhere (I68); and sequelae of cerebrovascular disease (I69). |
| Total cardiovascular disease (ICD-10 codes I00–I99, Q20–Q28) | This category includes rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease (I00–I09); hypertensive diseases (I10–I15); ischemic (coronary) heart disease (I20–I25); pulmonary heart disease and diseases of pulmonary circulation (I26–I28); other forms of heart disease (I30–I52); cerebrovascular disease (stroke) (I60–I69); atherosclerosis (I70); other diseases of arteries, arterioles, and capillaries (I71–I79); diseases of veins, lymphatics, and lymph nodes not classified elsewhere (I80–I89); and other and unspecified disorders of the circulatory system (I95–I99). When data are available, we include congenital cardiovascular defects (Q20–Q28). |
| Underlying cause of death or any-mention cause of death | These terms are used by the NCHS when defining mortality. Underlying cause of death is defined by the World Health Organization as “the disease or injury which initiated the chain of events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury.” Any-mention cause of death includes the underlying cause of death and up to 20 additional multiple causes listed on the death certificate. |
*
According to criteria established by the AHA/NHLBI and published in Circulation (Circulation. 2005;112:2735–2752).