For decades, heart disease has been the leading cause of death among Americans. However, heart disease death rates have been trending downward while cancer death rates have been closing the gap, according to a new report from the CDC.
Here are three key takeaways from the CDC report on the shifting mortality burden of heart disease and cancer in America.
1. Changing trends: In 1950, heart disease was responsible for the death of 537,629 people and cancer was responsible for 210,733 deaths. In 2014, 489,926 people died of heart disease and 466,270 died of cancer.
2. By demographics: While the gap in mortality burden between cancer and heart disease has narrowed for white and black populations in the U.S., heart disease remains the leading cause of death for both of these demographics. For the non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander population, cancer has been the leading cause since 2000. Among Hispanics, cancer has been the leading cause of death since 2009. For both populations, cancer deaths increased by more than 70 percent from 2000 to 2014.
3. Among the states: Heart disease represented the leading cause of death in all U.S. states until 1990 when cancer became the leading cause of death in Alaska. In the year 2000, cancer became the leading cause of death in Minnesota as well. As of 2014, cancer has become the leading cause of death in 22 states. To see a topographic breakdown of these trends, click here.
