Cardiovascular disease mortality

Although mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) has been declining, it remains the leading cause of death among urban U.S. blacks. McCord and Freeman reported CVD as the major contributor to excess mortality in Central Harlem. However the disease-specific CVD mortality was not assessed. Thus,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the National Medical Association 2003-12, Vol.95 (12), p.1146-1151
Main Authors: ONWUANYI, Anekwe E, CLARKE, Aubrey, VANDERBUSH, Eric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
African Americans - statistics & numerical data
Aged
Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension
Biological and medical sciences
Blood and lymphatic vessels
Cardiology. Vascular system
Cardiovascular Diseases - ethnology
Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality
Clinical manifestations. Epidemiology. Investigative techniques. Etiology
Female
Humans
Hypertension - ethnology
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
New York City - epidemiology
Urban Population - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Although mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) has been declining, it remains the leading cause of death among urban U.S. blacks. McCord and Freeman reported CVD as the major contributor to excess mortality in Central Harlem. However the disease-specific CVD mortality was not assessed. Thus, it was unclear what the distribution of specific CVDs was in Central Harlem and their contribution to excess mortality. We reviewed the vital statistics records of New York City (NYC) Department of Health for 1990 and identified all cases in which the cause of death was coded as cardiovascular (International Classification of Diseases-ICD, 9th Revision, codes 391, 393-398, 401-404, 410, 411, 414-417, 420-438 and 440-444). The total and disease-specific CVD mortality for NYC and Central Harlem were calculated using the appropriate 1990 census data as the denominator. Central Harlem residents aged between 25-64 years were at least twice as likely to die from cardiovascular causes, compared to NYC residents. Hypertension-related deaths, ICD codes 401 (essential hypertension), 402 (hypertensive heart disease), 403 (hypertensive renal disease), and 404 (hypertensive heart and renal disease), were the major cause of excess death for men and women in Central Harlem. These findings show the importance of hypertension as the main determinant of the excess cardiovascular mortality in urban blacks and suggest an increased risk of cardiovascular death in blacks residing in Central Harlem.
ISSN:0027-9684
1943-4693