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CV health of Americans varies state to state
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CV health in the United States varies greatly from state to state, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Using 2009 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a telephone survey of more than 350,000 Americans, researchers collected information on the AHA’s seven major CV health factors: BP, total cholesterol, smoking, BMI, diabetes, physical activity, and fruit and vegetable consumption. According to researchers, this study is the first to assess CV health at the state level.
Results showed that the percentage of the population reporting ideal CV health — defined as having optimal levels of all seven factors — was lowest in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi and highest in Washington, D.C., Vermont and Virginia.
About 3% of the total US population reported ideal CV health. About 10% reported having poor CV health, with two or less CV health factors at optimal levels.
People living in western and New England states reported having a higher percentage of ideal CV health.
“Americans reported having, on average, more than four of the seven risk factors for heart disease,” Jim Fang, MD, MS, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, said in a release.
People aged 65 years and older reported the lowest percentage of ideal CV health, whereas those aged 35 to 54 years reported the highest percentage of ideal CV health. Overall, women reported that they fared better than men. Whites and Asian/Pacific Islanders reported the highest rates of CV health, whereas blacks, Native Americans and Alaska Natives fared the worst. Those with the highest education level reported better CV health than those with lower levels.
Donna Arnett
“The comparisons offered by Fang and colleagues illustrate a critical point: CV health status in the United States varies considerably by age, sex, race/ethnicity and education as well as by state,” Donna Arnett, PhD, president of the AHA and author of an accompanying editorial published in JAHA, said in a press release. “This diversity necessitates that innovative, customized strategies be developed to most effectively improve CV health for specific states and among subpopulations.”
For more information:
Arnett DK. J Am Heart Assoc. 2012;doi:10.1161/JAHA.112.006114.
Fang J. J Am Heart Assoc. 2012;doi:10.1161/JAHA.112.005371.
Disclosure: The study was funded by the CDC. Arnett and Fang report no relevant financial disclosures.