Death rates for heart disease decrease among baby boomers
Between 2003 and 2013, the death rate for heart disease decreased 19 percent among men age 55 to 64 and decreased 24 percent for women in the same age category, according to a report released on May 6 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Still, in 2013, 55 percent of deaths among that age group were due to cancer or heart disease.
The authors mentioned that the people in the age category studied were part of the baby-boom generation and that they lived longer than previous generations.
The report also found that the percentage of adults from 55 to 64 with diabetes increased from 16.7 percent between 1999 and 2002 to 18.9 percent between 2009 and 2012. During that same time period, the percentage of adults in that age category with hypercholesterolemia increased from 39.1 percent to 50.1 percent, while those with hypertension increased from 49.5 percent to 51.4 percent.
The authors noted that diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension all increase the risk of heart disease.
Between 2009 and 2012, 45 percent of adults from 55 to 64 took a prescription cardiovascular drug, which was up from 41.3 percent between 1999 and 2002. Meanwhile, the percentage taking a cholesterol-lowering drug increased from 20.6 percent to 31.8 percent.
The report noted that between 2003 and 2013, the number of people in the U.S. from 55 to 64 years old increased from 28 million to 39 million. During that time period, that age group’s percentage of the U.S. population grew from 9.7 percent to 12.4 percent.
However, by 2030, it is estimated that people from 55 to 64 will account for 10.8 percent of the population.
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.