- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
(CNN) - Mortality rates in the United States due to cardiometabolic diseases (heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure) have stagnated or increased in recent years, new research reveals.
Mortality rates from those health conditions were decreasing, but then reached a worrying turning point in 2010, and remained unchanged or increased thereafter, according to research published in the medical journal JAMA on Tuesday.
“We are losing ground in the battle against cardiovascular diseases. Understanding what contributes to these alarming trends can help lead specific prevention strategies, ”said Dr. Sadiya Khan, an assistant professor of cardiology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, who was the lead author of the research .
"Even more alarming are the persistent disparities in the higher mortality rates among black Americans compared to white Americans," Khan said. The research found that black adults consistently had higher cardiometabolic-related mortality rates than white adults, and black men had the highest rates.
"We need to reduce deaths from cardiometabolic diseases and we need to find strategies to reduce disparities," he said.
READ : In one of the "healthiest" states in the US, obesity affects blacks and Hispanics
Separately, in a written statement on Tuesday, Khan noted how most cardiometabolic deaths are preventable.
"Our findings make it clear that we are losing ground in the battle against cardiovascular disease," he said in the statement. "We need to shift our focus as a nation towards prevention to achieve our goal of living longer, in a healthier way and free of cardiovascular disease."
The new research involved the analysis of death certificate data in the WONDER database of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC). Death certificates dated from 1999 to 2017.
The data showed that in 1999 the total deaths were 725,192 for heart disease, 167,366 for stroke, 68,399 for diabetes and 16,968 for hypertension.
In 2017, the total deaths due to cause were 647,457 due to heart disease, 146,383 due to stroke, 83,564 due to diabetes and 35,316 due to hypertension, the data showed.
MIRA : Deaths from cardiovascular diseases increase in the United States
From 1999 to 2017, 12.3% of fatal cardiometabolic events occurred in black individuals and 85.1% in white individuals, and 51.3% occurred in women, the data showed.
The researchers also found that the death rate from heart disease decreased between 1999 and 2010, and during those years there were 8.3 fewer deaths per 100,000 people annually compared to the years after 2010.
Mortality rates also decreased due to stroke and diabetes before 2010, but did not change significantly between that year and 2017, the data showed.
Regarding hypertension or high blood pressure, there was a turning point in 2003 and the mortality rate linked to that condition increased less rapidly thereafter, the researchers found.
The investigation had some limitations, among them, since it was based on death certificate data, which was subject to any errors presented in the death certificates. In addition, more research is needed to determine why certain trends in the data occurred.
"Our study is also unable to definitively establish what is driving the change in cardiometabolic mortality rates, but obesity is probably the main culprit," Khan said.
It is estimated that there are 47 million people in the United States living with cardiometabolic disorders, which puts them at greater risk of developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes, according to the American College of Cardiology.
The change in cardiometabolic mortality rates from 1999 to 2010 versus 2010 to 2017 caused “alarms” to go off for Dr. Dave Montgomery, founding cardiologist at the PREvent Clinic in Sandy Springs, Georgia, who was not involved in the new research.
A probable explanation for these recent trends in mortality rate data could be linked to an increase in the main drivers of cardiometabolic disease, hypertension and diabetes, such as obesity, said Montgomery, who also practices with Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta
"The surprising increase in mortality rates due to hypertension in blacks, a completely treatable condition, raises the greatest concern," he said. “Hypertension is the main risk factor for stroke in the US, whose rates in this study were stagnant. Again, suggesting that we are losing ground. ”
To avoid a personal risk of cardiometabolic disease, it is recommended to eat a healthy diet, exercise, control blood pressure, control excessive stress and not smoke, said Dr. Eric Adler, cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the new investigation.
LOOK : When we talk about losing weight, what do you think is more important: nutrition or exercise?
However, he added that for the nation to reduce mortality rates linked to cardiometabolic disease, the approach may be more complicated and may require public health initiatives.
“In the 80s and 90s, we made great strides in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and I think that is largely due to public health measures. Therefore, it reduces tobacco consumption and recognizes this association between cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases. ” He said.
“In any case, it is stabilizing now, so what is the next step? What will keep us in these declines? Will the public health measures be the ones to do it again? ”He asked. “As Americans, we don't really get our investment, despite spending more on medical care in the industrialized world. We spend more and we still have these very high rates ... Talk about putting more efforts into prevention. ”
Type 2 diabetes Cardiovascular disease