New Heart Disease Facts

(Ivanhoe Newswire) — A new 2005 update from the American Heart Association shows some alarming trends. Researchers say cardiovascular disease remains the nation’s number one killer. The report also includes information showing risk factors for cardiovascular diseases are increasing among America’s young people.

The 2005 update compiles statistics from 2002, which is the most recent year that data are available. The update includes the following facts on cardiovascular disease:

• Sixty-five million Americans have high blood pressure, which is a 30-percent increase from the previous survey.

• Coronary heart disease alone is the single largest killer of Americans.

• Since 1991, the prevalence of obesity among American adults has increased 73 percent.

• Nearly 14 million American adults have diabetes, and millions more are undiagnosed with this disease.

The update also includes a new section about the metabolic syndrome in adolescents. MetS includes many controllable risk factors for heart disease including excess high cholesterol levels, abnormal blood sugar levels, high blood pressure and weight. The report shows 1 million adolescents between ages 12 to 19 have MetS. The most common problem in youth is being overweight. The study found more kids are overweight or obese, and more preschool children are overweight.

“Childhood risk factors carry over into adulthood and may eventually translate into heart disease and other medical problems such as diabetes. Obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease that should be controlled early in life,” says Robert H. Eckel, M.D., an endocrinologist at the University of Colorado Health Science Center.

SOURCE: To be published in an upcoming journal from the American Heart Association