The State of Our Health - Women's Health: Heart Disease

The death rate from ischemic heart disease (IHD is the cause of most coronary deaths) is down among women of all races in the 1979 to 1999 period, as shown in the graphic above.

In 1999, the age-adjusted¹ death rate of African-American females was 192.5 per 100,000 population, 26% higher than the death rate for white females, 152.5. But at the beginning of the period shown, in 1979, the black and white death rates were nearly identical, 255.8 for blacks, 255.4 for whites. As shown, the rates began to diverge after that year. The death rate dropped for both populations, but at a much more rapid rate for whites.

Several factors are associated with the prevention of early death from IHD. These include appropriate nutrition ("heart-healthy foods" low in cholesterol), adequate exercise, controlled body weight, abstinence from tobacco, and control of hypertension and diabetes. Blacks have a higher incidence of high blood pressure and diabetes. They are less likely to be diagnosed early with the disease or to receive proactive therapeutic treatment. They are also more likely to die suddenly and outside of hospitals from coronary heart disease.²Socioeconomic factors, including poverty, thus play a role in the difference between the death rates of white and black females from heart disease.

The series shown in the graphic does not break out death rates for Asians and Pacific Islanders, American Indians, or people of Hispanic origin. The curve showing Non-White Females includes the black population, which is its largest component. This shows that the Asians and Pacific Islanders and American Indian groups have lower death rates than blacks. Their inclusion brings the death rate down. Hispanic women had the lowest death rate due to IHD in 1999 as shown in the table:

1999 Age-Adjusted Death Rates of Females from IHD

Population Group	Death Rate in 1999 per 100,000 population
White Females	152.5
Non-Hispanic	153.7
Black Females	192.5
Non-Hispanic	196.6
Hispanic Females	112.8

The median Hispanic household income in 1999 was only slightly higher than that of blacks ($30,735 versus $27,910) and 72% of whites ($42,504). It is evident, therefore, that life-style or genetic endowment are more important in avoiding death by coronary heart disease than other factors. Note, in the table above, that Hispanic females in the white and black populations caused overall death rates for white and black females to be lower than for the non-Hispanic portions of those populations.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System. Online. Available: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/default.htm. May 29, 2002.