Region, Race Affect Men’s Heart Disease Risk, CDC/West Virginia University Report Finds

Black men over the age of 35 and men in the rural South are more likely to die of heart disease, according to a new "atlas" of the disease released June 20, USA Today reports. The study found that black men were 26% more likely to die of heart disease than white men and nearly twice as likely to die of heart disease than Hispanic men, with disparities linked to societal causes (Sternberg, USA Today, 6/21). Researchers at the CDC and West Virginia University examined data on 1.7 million men over age 35 who died from heart disease -- the nation's leading cause of death -- between 1991 and 1995 (Bowman, Scripps Howard/Washington Times. Here are some of the main findings of the 231-page report, titled "Men and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities."

• Black men living in the Ohio-Mississippi River Valley, Appalachia, southeastern Georgia, the Mississippi Delta, and other southern rural areas faced an even higher risk of heart disease than black men living elsewhere. The risk for white men was also higher in these areas (Guthrie, Atlanta-Journal Constitution, 6/21).
• Among racial groups, black men had a heart disease death rate of 841 per 100,000, followed by white men (666), American Indian and Alaska natives (465), Hispanics (432) and Asians and Pacific Islanders (372). The overall heart disease death rate was 675 per 100,000 men.
• Among states, Mississippi, West Virginia and Kentucky had the highest rates of heart disease deaths among men, while Hawaii, Utah and Colorado had the lowest (Rulon, AP/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/21).
• Men in "major metropolitan areas" had low to moderate heart disease death rates (Scripps Howard/Washington Times, 6/21). However, New York City's death rate was 853 per 100,000, exceeding every state except Mississippi. In addition, the rate for black men in New York City was lower than that of white men (Ferraro, New York Daily News, 6/21).
• Based on a similar report on women last year, the study concluded that men across all ethnic groups suffer higher rates of heart disease than women, although the same geographic, ethnic and racial disparities exist in both genders.

Social 'Defects'
West Virginia University's Elizabeth Barnett, lead author of the study, said that the highest rates of heart disease deaths "are found in the regions of the country with the poorest economies and few health care resources, particularly in underdeveloped rural areas" (Scripps Howard/Washington Times, 6/21). She added, "We don't think these racial or ethnic disparities are due to genetics or inborn differences. We see them reflecting defects in our society" (USA Today, 6/21). The St. Petersburg Times reports that "some of the reasons" for the higher heart disease death rates among black men include poor diets, lack of exercise, increased rates of high blood pressure and obesity. Still, the explanations seem to go beyond diet and exercise, as blacks are "disproportionately poorer than whites, and the poor tend to hold jobs with fewer health benefits, to have less opportunity for recreation and to see a doctor less regularly." In addition, studies have shown that some heart medications are not as effective in blacks and that doctors are more likely to recommend certain heart treatments for whites than blacks (Allison, St. Petersburg Times, 6/21). Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, president of the American Heart Association, said, "We know that these disparities can be eliminated, and we know what works to address these differences. The CDC has prevention programs under way in all the states highlighted by these findings, but there's still not enough money to run them effectively" (Scripps Howard/Washington Times, 6/21). Click here to access the atlas and related information. Please note this link is available to Web readers only.