Cardiovascular disease refers to several types of heart conditions, specifically ones that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels. The most common heart condition in the US is coronary heart disease, which can cause heart attack, angina, heart failure, and arrhythmias. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) estimate that in 2011 heart disease cost the United States $444 billion, including the cost of healthcare, medications, and lost productivity.
Lowering cholesterol and blood pressure levels can reduce the risk of developing heart disease. For people who already have heart disease, these interventions can lower the risk of dying from heart disease, having a heart attack, or needing medical interventions such as heart bypass surgery. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes are all conditions that are risk factors for developing heart disease. Tobacco use, diet, inactivity, obesity, alcohol consumption, age, and heredity are further risk factors.
This indicator measures the total deaths attributed to heart diseases in Walla Walla County and the heart disease mortality rate per 100,000 residents. Additional information, including a breakdown by the type of heart disease (ischemic, which is generally when a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked such as in a stroke, and cerebrovascular diseases which involve the narrowing of the blood vessels in the brain resulting in a lower blood supply to the brain), as well as the number of deaths attributed to each form of heart disease, can be found in the “Download Data” section. Washington State is offered as a benchmark.