Are We Losing the War Against Heart Disease?

National efforts such as Healthy People 2010 have focused on improving outcomes for patients who have or are at risk for heart disease. However, a new assessment of U.S. mortality rates in people aged 35 and older from 1980 through 2002 suggests that much work remains.

Although the general trend was encouraging — overall age-adjusted mortality from coronary heart disease fell by 52% in men and 49% in women — unfavorable trends emerged when age-specific data were analyzed. Indeed, the decrease in mortality rates from 1980 to 1990 for both men and women aged 35 to 54 slowed considerably from 1991 to 2002.

Specifically, among men aged 35 to 54, the annual decrease in mortality was 6.2% from 1980 to 1989, 2.3% from 1989 to 2000, and 0.5% from 2000 to 2002. Among women of the same age, the estimated decline in mortality was 5.4% from 1980 to 1989 and 1.2% from 1989 to 2000; from 2000 to 2002, however, the estimated mortality increased 1.5% annually. Conversely, for men and women aged 55 and older, the rate of decrease accelerated with time.