by 
U.S. hospitalizations and deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke dropped significantly in the last decade, based on new information within the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
“Interestingly, these improvements happened inside a period when there were no real ‘miracle’ clinical advancements,” said Harlan Krumholz, M.D., S.M., lead author from the “most comprehensive report card to-date” on America’s progress in heart disease and stroke prevention and treatment. “Rather, we saw consistent improvements in the utilization of evidence-based treatments and medicines as well as an increase in quality improvement initiatives using registries along with other data to track performance and support improvement efforts – as well as a strong emphasis on heart-healthy lifestyles and behaviors.”
Researchers collected data on nearly 34 million Medicare Fee-For-Service recipients in 1999-2011. They analyzed trends in rates of hospitalization, dying within a month to be admitted, being admitted again inside a month and dying throughout the following year. They considered patient factors including age, sex, race, other illnesses and geography.
By the end of 2011, hospitalization rates of all races and areas dropped:
38 percent for heart attack;
83.8 percent for unstable angina, sudden chest pain often leading to heart attack;
30.5 percent for heart failure; and
33.6 % for ischemic stroke.
Furthermore, risks of dying for those who went to a healthcare facility inside a year decreased about 21 percent for unstable angina, 23 percent for heart attacks and 13 percent for heart failure and stroke.
“Huge strides in lifestyle, quality of care and prevention techniques for cardiovascular health have appeared to have a ripple effect on saving lives,” said Krumholz, director from the Center of Outcomes Research and Evaluation at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Conn. “As a result, our country has undergone remarkable changes, that has reduced suffering and charges.”
Other significant contributions included improvements in identifying and treating high blood pressure, a rapid rise in using statins, marked declines in smoking and more timely and appropriate strategy to cardiac arrest patients, he explained.
“There is still more try to do as heart disease and stroke combined remain the leading cause of death and disability, however this study documents astonishing progress and national achievement,” Krumholz said.
Co-authors are Sharon-Lise Normand, Ph.D. and Yun Wang, Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute supported the research.
