Skip to main content

New story in Health from Time: Heart Failure Is Killing More Americans. Can the Health Care System Keep Up?



A rapidly aging U.S. population, as well as high rates of obesity and diabetes, are causing more people to die from heart failure and other heart problems, according to a new report published in JAMA Cardiology. That’s bad news not only for patients, but also for the U.S. health care system.

Heart disease remains the leading killer of Americans, but improvements in public health and medicine over the last few decades have driven cardiovascular mortality rates way down. In recent years, however, that progress has slowed, and declines in heart disease mortality have been more modest. Some studies even suggest cardiovascular death rates are rising among younger adults, due in part to widespread obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

The new study, which drew on data from death certificates filed from 2011 to 2017, points to another reason heart health may be at risk: The U.S. population is simply getting older. The study points out that the 65-and-older population in the U.S. grew by almost 23% from 2011 to 2017 (compared to 2% growth for the under-65 population).

Age is one of the top risk factors for cardiovascular issues and, despite the worrying increases in heart problems among younger people, adults older than 65 still account for the vast majority of heart disease deaths in the U.S. While the heart disease mortality rate dropped slightly from 2011 to 2017, it wasn’t enough to compensate for significant growth in the aging population, according to the paper. As a result, the total number of deaths associated with heart disease actually rose by 8.5% from 2011 to 2017.

Heart failure—which occurs when the heart can’t pump enough blood—appears to be the most pressing concern, according to the report. From 2011 to 2017, the heart failure mortality rate increased by almost 21%, translating to a 38% increase in the number of deaths attributed to the condition. In 2017, more than 350,000 death certificates listed heart failure as either the primary or contributing cause of death, according to the paper.

Those increases could spell trouble for America’s already overburdened health care system, which will only become more strained in the coming years. With the U.S. population only getting older—the 65-and-over population is expected to grow by 44% from 2017 to 2030—the health care system needs to focus on heart disease detection and prevention as well as treatment, the study authors write.

Studies show that regular physical activity; eating a balanced, plant-heavy diet; avoiding smoking and heavy drinking; staying social; and limiting stress can all protect your heart health, ideally stopping problems before they start.

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

New story in Health from Time: Here’s How Quickly Coronavirus Is Spreading in Your State

The novel coronavirus pandemic is a global crisis, a national emergency and a local nightmare. But while a great deal of the focus in the U.S. has been on the federal government’s response, widely criticized as slow and halting , the picture on the ground remains very different in different parts of the country. A TIME analysis of the per capita spread of the epidemic in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. found considerable range in the rate of contagion, and, in some parts of the country, a significant disparity compared to the national figure. The U.S., unlike nations such as South Korea and now Italy , has yet to show signs of bringing the runaway spread of the virus under control. However, while no single state is yet showing strong signs of bending the curve , some are faring much worse than others. The following graphic plots the rise in the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents in each state, plotted by the day that each state reported its first case....
Read more

New video by gymvirtual on YouTube

Rutina para adelgazar | Ejercicios para perder peso en casa ♥ ♥ LÉEME / DESPLIÉGAME ♥ ♥ Hola a todos, hoy os traigo una rutina de cardio de 25 minutos para quemar grasa y adelgazar en casa. En la web https://ift.tt/39VJREp encontraréis los calendarios de entrenamiento tanto para principiantes como para avanzados. Si quieres conseguir tú transformación en solamente 12 semanas, entra ya en http://www.pgv12.com y elige el PLAN PGV12 que más se adapte a ti. Nuestro lema: YO PUEDO CON TODO Los hashtags: #GymVirtual #YPCT #YoPuedoConTodo #PGV12 ♡♡ ¡SUSCRÍBETE! ♡♡ http://www.youtube.com/user/gymvirtual ................................................................................................................................. ♡♡ PLAN DE ENTRENAMIENTO + NUTRICIÓN 12 SEMANAS♡♡ http://www.pgv12.com ................................................................................................................................. ♡♡¡ECHA UN VISTAZO A NUESTRA TIENDA ONLINE! ♡♡ https://ift.tt/2Un...
Read more

New story in Health from Time: After Cruise Ships and Nursing Homes, Will Universities Be the Next COVID-19 Tinderboxes?

The fall semester has yet to begin, but student athletes training for the season can already be found on college campuses across the U.S. And so can COVID-19. Since the start of July there have been at least two outbreaks among student athletes, coaches, and staff—with 37 infected at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill and 22 at Boise State . Clusters of infection have been traced to college town bars popular with students. A common misconception is that young people with COVID-19 don’t die and therefore college re-openings pose little risk. Sadly, this isn’t the case. COVID-19 deaths in the young are rare, but they happen. Universities across the U.S. are mourning the loss of students in the lead-up to the school year, including Joshua Bush , a 30-year old nursing student at the University of South Carolina, Trevor Syphus Lee , a 27-year old senior at Utah Valley University, and Juan Garcia , a 21-year old Penn State undergraduate. One might imagine th...
Read more