Heart Disease Statistics
Even with the substantial amount of information available, heart disease statistics continue to show that the number of people diagnosed with the condition is rising. Although technically, heart disease is actually a grouping of several conditions that are considered to be abnormal, it is still one of the leading causes of death among adults in America. Heart disease affects everyone and there are some statistics that do show improvement in certain areas, but many people are still dying because of it.
The most commonly diagnosed form of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD). Statistics tell us that CAD is the leading cause of heart attacks. While we do have relatively accurate data from the last two decades, the information needed to track heart disease statistics was not always gathered on a consistent basis until the mid 1980's. Thus means that unfortunately we do not know how many people in the past truly died from the silent killer.
When a person is diagnosed with CAD, their arteries have actually hardened and their size has narrowed. Blood cells have a difficult time traveling through the body and back up to the heart. Because of this, a person's heart will not be receiving all of the blood that it needs to function in top form. If this condition persists over a long enough time period several more severe conditions may occur such as angina, a heart attack, heart failure, and heart arrhythmias. Fortunately, heart disease statistics are now accurately recorded and analyzed so that we have a better understanding of exactly how many people are afflicted with any of these conditions.
In particular, American women need to take care of their health and be aware of their potential risks of having heart disease. The latest heart disease statistics show that nearly one out of every three women in America actually die because of heart disease. In 2003 nearly double the number of women died of cardiovascular disease than the number of women who died from all of the cancer types combined. As a woman ages, she is much more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease. In fact, heart disease statistics have proven to show that women of all ages need to be worried about their health. Preventing heart disease is something that all people need to work towards.
It is a known fact that both men and women can have heart attacks, however many more women actually die when they have a heart attack. The reason is not completely known but heart disease statistics indicate that treatments must be given to a woman experiencing a heart attack much sooner than a man needs them if she is to live.
Amazingly, because of the accuracy of the available data, heart disease statistics even show a difference in the susceptibility of Hispanic and African American women towards the condition. They are actually much more likely to get heart disease simply because their groups also have other risk factors including high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and poor circulation. Everyone needs to be an active participant in their health care, but it seems as though the heart disease statistics say no matter who you are, someone you know will eventually die from heart disease...