Declines in CVD-Related Death Rates Are Slowing Down, Reversing

Declines in the rates of heart disease and stroke have slowed in recent years, and in some countries, these rates are even increasing, according to the results of recent research.

Although rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality in high-income countries has declined significantly over the past 50 years, recent evidence has suggested that these declines may be slowing.

To verify the trajectory of these trends, researchers conducted a study of data from individuals in 23 high-income countries from the World Health Organization Mortality Database. Specifically, they looked at age-standardized CVD-related death rates by sex for all ages and in those aged 35 to 74 years.

Overall, they found that the rate of decline in CVD-related mortality “slowed considerably” in most countries for both men and women. In fact, in individuals aged 35 to 74 years, these rates are now barely declining, and even increasing in 12 of the 23 countries studied. In North America (including US males and females and Canada females), CVD-related mortality rates increased in the most recent year.

“A significant slowdown in CVD-mortality decline is now apparent across high-income countries with diverse epidemiological environments. High and increasing obesity levels, limited potential future gains from further reducing already low smoking prevalence, especially in English-speaking countries, and persistent inequalities in mortality risk pose significant challenges for public policy to promote better cardiovascular health,” they concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Lopez AD, Adair T. Is the long-term decline in cardiovascular-disease mortality in high-income countries over? Evidence from national vital statistics [published online August 5, 2019]. Int J Epidemiol. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyz143.