Nearly 50% of adult U.S. population at risk from heart disease

Apr 27 2010

By Candy Lashkari

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released an alarming new report on Monday. According to the CDC report almost 50% of the adult population of the United States have chronic conditions which could lead to heart disease. The pre-existing diagnosed conditions included high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

3% of the adults had all three conditions, while 13% had two of them as per the report. It was also suggested that nearly one in seven adults had one or more of these conditions and was as yet undiagnosed.

Dr. Steve E. Nissen, Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic said "These findings are disturbing and reflect the cumulative effects of the modern American lifestyle. If we continue on the same course, this problem will grow progressively worse."

Most health care experts agree that these three conditions are a direct result of the obesity epidemic that has boomed out of control in the last few decades. CDC figures indicate that nearly 67% of American adults are either overweight or obese.

The presence of high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes is largely attributed to the change in dietary patterns of Americans from the 1960s to the present day as per Dr. Rosemarie Hirsch, the Chief of the Analysis Brach at the National Center for Health Statistics.

Dr. Clyde Yancy of Baylor University Medical Center, president of the American Heart Association said, “The number that really surprises me is the penetration of these conditions into the U.S. population. It means there are a large number of people who think they are healthy…but are working under a terrible misconception.”

“The main thing here is for people to be aware that they have these conditions and know that lifestyle modifications and medications can control them and reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease," said epidemiologist Cheryl D. Fryar of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, one of the study's authors.

The study found African Americans to be the group with the highest proportion of hypertension. 42% of the blacks had the condition compared to 29% whites and 26% Mexican Americans. The whites were the most likely to have high cholesterol while the Mexican Americans were most likely to suffer from diabetes.

The African Americans were also more likely to have a combination of two out of the three conditions. The data comes from the ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that releases new figures every two years.

"This report is so timely and important because it crystallizes exactly what the burden is," Dr Clyde Yancy said. "It tells us the challenge we now face that could stress and potentially defeat any healthcare system we could come up with."

The way to deal with the impending crisis seems to be taking more personal responsibility for your health. "This trio begins with a quartet of smoking, a junk diet, physical inactivity and obesity. Those are all things we can do something about." Said Dr Yancy.