2007 to 2017 saw increase in death rates in rural and urban populations, for all age groups, both sexes
FRIDAY, March 27, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- From 2007 to 2017, there was an increase in mortality rates due to hypertension (HTN)-related cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a research letter published online March 19 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology to coincide with the virtual meeting of the American College of Cardiology together with the World Congress of Cardiology, held from March 28 to 30.
Lakshmi Nambiar, M.D., from the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine in Burlington, and colleagues analyzed age-adjusted mortality rates attributed to HTN-related CVD from death certificates for the years 2007 to 2017.
The researchers found that from 2007 to 2017, there was a significant increase in age-adjusted death rates due to HTN-related CVD over time, from 18.3 to 23.0 per 100,000. In rural and urban populations, the age-adjusted death rates increased by 72 and 20 percent, respectively; increases were seen in each region. For all groups, there were increases in age-adjusted death rates over time, with the absolute highest rates of death in patients aged 65 to 74 years at every time point. For all time points, HTN-related CVD death rates were higher among men than women (2017: 25.7 versus 20.3), but significant increases in death rates were seen for both sexes over time.
"This is a public health emergency that has not been fully recognized," Nambiar said in a statement. "These findings are alarming and warrant further investigation, as well as preventative efforts."
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