B8 - Partners - after HD

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Preventing Heart Disease:
What Public Health Partners Need to Know
Heart disease is a huge burden on the United States. It’s the leading
cause of death for both men and women. Every year, 1 in 4 deaths
is caused by heart disease. Coronary heart disease alone costs
the United States $109 billion each year.

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The good news: heart disease is preventable. Together, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its partners can raise
awareness about the risks for heart disease and encourage people to
make healthy choices to help prevent or delay it.
CDC has teamed up with public health organizations and partners in 41
states and the District of Columbia to promote heart-healthy living and
working conditions.
In order to understand the burden of heart disease, and better focus your
local, state, and national prevention efforts, we’ve included information
about risk factors — as well as data about heart disease deaths by race
and location.

What Partners Can Do
Raise awareness about risk factors and strategies for prevention.
The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to develop heart
disease. High blood pressure, smoking cigarettes, and high LDL (bad)
cholesterol are key heart disease risk factors — and half of all American
adults have at least one of them.

32%

21%

15%

High Blood
Pressure

Smoke
Cigarettes

High LDL (bad)
cholesterol

Partners can help raise awareness about
lowering these key risk factors for heart disease.

People can prevent heart disease by taking steps like:
• Eating healthy
• Getting active
• Quitting smoking
• Controlling cholesterol and blood pressure

Make sure everyone you serve knows
the warning signs of a heart attack.
Every year about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack. Knowing the
warning signs of a heart attack is key to preventing death, but many
people don’t know the signs. For example, in a 2005 survey, only 27%
of respondents were aware of all the major symptoms of a heart attack
and knew to call 911.
You can make a difference by creating campaigns to educate people
about the warning signs of a heart attack and how and when to get help.

Understand Heart Disease: Deaths by Race
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for most people in the United
States, including White Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic
Americans. For Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders and American
Indians or Alaska Natives, heart disease is the number 2 killer.
In 2008, the percentage of all deaths due to heart
disease by race were:
• White Americans: 25%
• African Americans: 24%
• Hispanic Americans: 21%
• Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders: 23%
• American Indians or Alaska Natives: 18%
Put another way, in White and African Americans, about 1 in 4 deaths
is caused by heart disease. (For other racial groups, this number is
closer to 1 in 5 deaths.)
Support local, state, and national efforts to create materials that are
culturally competent and address barriers to heart health— as well as
provide tips and strategies for improving health outcomes.

Understand Heart Disease: Deaths by Location
From 2007 to 2009, heart disease death rates among adults
(ages 35 and older) were highest in the South and lowest in the West.

Knowing your area’s heart disease death rate can help inform
awareness and prevention efforts.
If your programs serve populations in the South, think about how this
data affects your heart disease awareness and prevention efforts.
Collaborate with other organizations and federal agencies to maximize
your impact.

Learn More: Fact Sheets
Heart Disease Fact Sheet
Men and Heart Disease
Women and Heart Disease
Atrial Fibrillation Fact Sheet
Heart Failure Fact Sheet
Know the Signs and Symptoms of a Heart Attack
Cholesterol Fact Sheet
High Blood Pressure Fact Sheet
Pulmonary Hypertension Fact Sheet