200,000 heart disease and stroke deaths could be prevented according to New Vital Signs Report

200,000 heart disease and stroke deaths could be prevented according to New Vital Signs Report

200,000 heart disease and stroke deaths could be prevented according to New Vital Signs Report

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent this bulletin at 09/04/2013 07:52 AM EDT More than 200,000 preventable deaths from heart disease and stroke occurred in the United States in 2010, according to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half of these deaths happened to people younger than 65 years of age, and the overall rate of preventable deaths from heart disease and stroke went down nearly 30 percent between 2001 and 2010, with the declines varying by age. Lack of access to preventive screenings and early treatment for high blood pressure and high cholesterol could explain the differences among age groups.
To save more lives from these preventable deaths, doctors, nurses, and other health care providers can encourage healthy habits at every patient visit, including not smoking, increasing physical activity, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking medicines as directed. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/HeartDisease-Stroke/index.html to learn more.