For the first quarter of 2015, the death rates for heart disease and stroke increased slightly compared with the same time period last year, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report.
For heart disease, the provisional crude death rate was 207.8 deaths per 100,000 population in the first three months of 2014 and 215.5 deaths per 100,000 population in the first three months of 2015. The age-adjusted death rates increased from 180.9 to 184.5 per 100,000 population.
For stroke, the provisional crude death rate was 43.6 deaths per 100,000 population in the first three months of 2014 and 47.1 deaths per 100,000 population in the first three months of 2014. The age-adjusted death rates increased from 38.3 to 40.6 per 100,000 population.
In 2014, the crude and age-adjusted heart disease death rates decreased slightly from 2013. Meanwhile, the crude stroke death rate increased slightly from 2013 to 2014, while the age-adjusted stroke death rate remained similar.
The CDC noted the death rates for 2014 and 2015 were estimates and based on provisional data, while the death rates for 2013 were based on final data.
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.