Coronary Heart Disease in New York State
What is coronary heart disease?
Coronary heart disease (CHD), sometimes called ischemic heart disease, refers to atherosclerosis of the arteries that supply the heart muscle. Atherosclerosis is a disease condition that can occur throughout the arterial circulation. It is a broad term that refers to the thickening and hardening of the arteries. Insufficiency of blood supply may result from a reduction of blood flow through one or more of these arteries. Heart cells are dependent on blood flow through these arteries to provide oxygen and to carry away metabolic products. Without an adequate flow of blood, these cells can become injured or die. When this occurs, immediate emergency treatment is necessary to stop the injury from widening, killing additional heart cells, and increasing the risk of complications or death.
Facts about CHD in NYS:
- Age-adjusted CHD mortality in New York for ages 35 and over is highest in the nation.
- Most of the excess in New York's CHD mortality occurs for ages 65 and over.
- CHD caused 48,117 deaths in New York State in 1995 — 1 of every 3.5 deaths.
- CHD was responsible for 29% of all deaths in New York in 1995
- CHD is the single largest killer of New York State Residents.
- Heart attack is the leading cause of death among women in New York.
- In 1995, 26,303 women died of CHD, compared to 3,544 who died of breast cancer.
- 88 percent of New Yorkers who die of CHD mortality were age 65 or older in 1995.
- In 1995, there were 21,814 male and 26303 female deaths from CHD.
- In 1995 age-adjusted CHD death rates were 265 (per 100,000) for white males and 234 for black males; and age-adjusted CHD death rates were 167 for white females and 179 for black females
For additional information, refer to The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in New York (PDF - 3.5MB) Posted: 04/20/2004