All throughout February, which is American Heart Month, the Need to Know column is focusing on heart disease, the leading killer of Americans. Last week we looked at risk factors for heart disease. Today, let’s look at heart disease statistics for Idaho. Heart disease is the number one killer of Idaho men and women, reflective of the national statistics. It accounts for nearly 1 in 4 Idaho deaths each year.
In order to get a perspective on Idaho’s numbers, let’s look at the national averages. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, in 2008, 232.3 men and 150.4 women per 100,000 died of heart disease in the United States. In 2008, 184.0 men and 126.6 women per 100,000 died of heart disease in Idaho. As you can see, the numbers are lower than the national average. And in fact, Idaho falls within a cluster of states, including Washington, Oregon, and Wyoming, with a lower than average rate of heart disease deaths. Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota, Hawaii, and Florida complete that list. These 13 states showed a rate of 167.0 – 205.7 heart disease deaths per 100,000 in 2008.
By contrast, a cluster of southern states, such as Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and Alabama, showed the highest rate of heart disease mortality, falling between 265.5 to 319.9 deaths per 100,000. Other states in this category include Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.
Here are some other numbers related to heart disease in Idaho. These statistics, from the Center for Disease Control, are from 2006. Most of Idaho’s numbers are right on par with the national average in each category. In 2006, 25.9 percent of Idahoans had high blood pressure, 37.6 percent of Idahoans had high blood cholesterol, and 7.9 percent had diabetes. Other risk factors for heart disease showed up on this survey, including smoking (19.1 percent) and obesity (63.1 percent). Perhaps two of the most startling statistics included the fact that 44.2 percent of Idahoans reported that they had not exercised in the past 30 days, and that a whopping 77.7 percent of Idahoans said they got less than 5 servings of fruit and vegetables each day.
So, what does all of this mean? Well, in general, Idaho’s population is healthier and more heart disease savvy than the populations of many other states. However, there are some disturbing messages when you read between the lines. Specifically, let’s look no farther than those last two statistics, regarding exercise and diet. Two of the best, and easiest, things anyone can do to prevent heart disease are getting some exercise and eating a healthy diet. But when 44 percent of our population doesn’t exercise regularly, and nearly 78 percent doesn’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, that’s a red flag. Clearly, we need to do more to stay healthy and help stave off our state’s number one killer.
To learn more about risk factors for heart disease, click on this link.
Talk it up:
Do any of these numbers surprise you?
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