{"id":10331,"date":"2015-08-27T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=10331"},"modified":"2015-08-26T21:31:50","modified_gmt":"2015-08-27T02:31:50","slug":"american-heart-association-says-young-adults-women-experience-only-slight-declines-in-heart-disease-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2015\/08\/27\/american-heart-association-says-young-adults-women-experience-only-slight-declines-in-heart-disease-deaths\/","title":{"rendered":"American Heart Association says Young Adults, Women experience only slight declines in Heart Disease Deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"

American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report<\/h2>\n

\"AmericanDallas, TX<\/strong> – Deaths from heart disease<\/a> have declined dramatically over the last few decades but young people, particularly women<\/a>, are not sharing equally in that improvement, according to new research in the American Heart Association\u2019s journal Circulation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Using data on adults age 25 and older, researchers tracked annual percentage changes in heart disease death rates between three time periods: 1979-1989, 1990-1999 and 2000-2011. Death rates in adults 65 and over declined consistently over the decades, with accelerating improvements since 2000.<\/p>\n

\"Improvements<\/a>

Improvements in death rates have slowed in people under age 55, particularly among women. (Amiercan Heart Association)<\/p><\/div>\n

In contrast, men and women under age 55 showed clear declines in annual death rates between 1979 and 1989 \u2014 down 4.6 percent in women and 5.5 percent in men \u2014 but then improvement slowed.<\/p>\n

The annual change in death rates in young women showed no improvement between 1990 and 1999 and has only fallen one percent since 2000. Death rates in young men fell 1.2 percent between 1990 and 1999 and 1.8 percent since 2000.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that these trends are not related to differences in treatment and hospitalization, but rather to a lack of effective preventive strategies for young people, particularly women,\u201d said Viola Vaccarino, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and professor and chair of epidemiology at Emory University\u2019s Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Georgia. \u201cThis population has not been studied as much as older groups, partially because they are generally considered to be at low risk. There is an urgent need for more research.\u201d<\/p>\n

[quotegreyleft]Fast Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n

><\/strong> Heart disease deaths have declined dramatically over the past three decades in people over age 65.<\/p>\n

><\/strong> Improvements in death rates have slowed in people under age 55, particularly among women.<\/p>\n

><\/strong> Greater attention to risk factors like obesity and diabetes in young people may further lower death rates.[\/quotegreyleft]<\/p>\n

Escalating rates of diabetes<\/a> and obesity<\/a> in younger adults could contribute to the lack of improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome reports suggest that diabetes and obesity may pose a greater heart disease risk in younger women than in other groups, and women need to become more aware of the heart risks of these conditions,\u201d Vaccarino said.<\/p>\n

Researchers may need to look beyond traditional risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol to improve heart disease prevention in adults under age 55, researchers suggest.<\/p>\n

\u201cNon-traditional risk factors may be especially important in the younger age group,\u201d Vaccarino said. \u201cFor example, in other research we and others have done, factors such as stress and depression are particularly common among young women with early-onset heart disease, and are powerful predictors of heart disease or its progression in this group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-authors are Kobina A. Wilmot, M.D.; Martin O\u2019Flaherty, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc.; Simon Capewell, M.D., D.Sc.; and Earl S. Ford, M.D., M.P.H. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.<\/p>\n

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute partially funded the study.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n