In 2015, the age-adjusted death rates increased 0.9 percent for heart disease and 3 percent for stroke compared with 2014, according to a Centers of Disease Control and Prevention report released on Dec. 8.
Heart disease remained the leading cause of death in the U.S. last year, while stroke was the fifth. The age-adjusted death rate last year was 168.5 per 100,000 standard population for heart disease and 37.6 deaths per 100,000 standard population for stroke.
Overall, the age-adjusted death rate increased 1.2 percent from 724.6 deaths per 100,000 standard population in 2014 to 733.1 deaths per 100,000 standard population in 2015. Age-adjusted death rates increased last year for non-Hispanic black males, non-Hispanic white males and non-Hispanic white females, but the rates remained similar for non-Hispanic black females, Hispanic males and Hispanic females.
In addition, life expectancy decreased from 78.9 years in 2014 to 78.8 years in 2015. For males, life expectancy fell from 76.5 years to 76.3. For females, life expectancy declined from 81.3 years to 81.2.
Further, the infant mortality rate increased from 582.1 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014 to 589.5 per 100,000 live births in 2015. However, the authors mentioned that the difference was not statistically significant.
The report’s authors noted that the National Center for Health Statistics collected the data from death certificates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.