Heart Health and Stroke

Jump to another page... Introduction Chronic heart disease Leisure time physical activity Fruits and Vegetables Fruit consumption Vegetable consumption Use of food labels High-fat diet Obesity Smoking Current drinkers Routine annual checkups Hypertension and high blood pressure High cholesterol Diabetes prevalence Direct care physician to population ratio Hospitalization rate for Heart Disease Age-adjusted mortality for heart disease Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to heart disease Cerebrovascular Disease Direct Care Physicians Hospitalization rate for cerebrovascular disease (stroke) Age-adjusted mortality for cerebrovascular disease (stroke) Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to cerebrovascular disease (stroke)

Obesity

Maintaining a healthy body weight is a preventive measure to heart disease. Being obese is a major risk factor for heart disease. The Healthy People 2010 goal is that no more than 15 percent of the population will be obese. Obesity is measured using the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. A BMI between 25 and 29.99 is considered to be overweight, a BMI over 30 is considered to be obese.

The 2004-2005 BRFSS results estimate that 69 percent of the Bexar County adult population is overweight (this combines overweight (34 percent) and obese (35 percent). BRFSS results show that the percent of the population who are obese across the state, as well as in Harris and Bexar Counties, has increased since 2002. Thirty-two percent of Texans and 31 percent of Harris County residents reported weights and heights that result in being classified as obese. The rate of obesity in Bexar County appears to be growing faster than the statewide rate, increasing from 24 percent in 2002 to 35 percent in the period 2004-2005.

The proportion of the population who are obese is significantly higher in the southern sectors of Bexar County ranging from 43 percent in the West to 47 percent in the South and East sectors. When the population who are overweight, but not obese, are combined with the population who are obese, a total of 80 percent of residents living in the southern part of Bexar County are overweight. In the northern sectors 29 percent report being obese. Sixty-two percent of residents living in the north part of the County are overweight. Most of the increase in obesity in Bexar County occurred in the southern sectors. The percent of people who are obese in the South has increased almost 10 percent in the period between 2002 and 2004-2005. It is important that strategies that include both improved nutrition and exercise be developed to help deal with concerns about weight and weight control. It is more likely that community members will participate in these strategies if they are engaged in designing strategies that will integrate into their own lifestyles.

Smoking

Use of tobacco products is known to increase the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. The nicotine and carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood. 67 Tobacco use is the most preventable risk factor for stroke. Never starting to smoke is a way to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Stopping smoking is the best way for a smoker to lower their level of risk.68 The Healthy People 2010 goal is to reduce the number of people who smoke cigarettes to no more than 12 percent of the adult population.

Use of tobacco is gradually declining across the United States and Texas. In 2002, 23 percent of Texans smoked. During the period 2004-2005, the rate has declined to 20 percent.

In the period 2004-2005, 19 percent of Bexar County residents reported being smokers, unchanged from the 2002 data. The West sector reports the highest use of tobacco at 26 percent. The Northeast and Northwest follow with 20 percent of residents reporting current smoking. Residents of North Central and East sectors report smoking at rates of 16 and 15 percent respectively. The South sector has the lowest rate of smokers at 13 percent.

The number of Bexar County survey participants who said they quit smoking at least one day in the past year increase from 44 percent in 2002 to 66 percent in the period 2004-2005.

Current drinkers

Excessive drinking may lead to an increase blood pressure and result in an increased chance of heart disease and can increase the level of triglycerides in the blood which contributes to atherosclerosis. 69 It is recommended by the American Dietetics Association for those who do drink, that women consume no more than one drink a day or two drinks a day for men.70

Fifty percent of Texans report they have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. This is down from 54 percent from 2002. Harris County residents show a similar decline from 58 percent in 2002 to 53 percent in the period 2004-2005. Bexar County reports an increase in the proportion of the people who drink, from 54 percent in 2002 to 58 percent in the period 2004-2005.

The number of people who have consumed alcohol in the last 30 days varies across Bexar County. On average 41 percent of residents of the Southern sector drink and 50 percent of residents in the West sector reported they drink. The higher averages were among those living in the East and northern sectors. Fifty-nine percent of residents in the Northwest sector report they are drinkers. In the Northeast sector 64 percent of residents indicate they drink. The highest percentage of current drinkers was reported in the North Central sector with 69 percent.

Routine annual checkups

People with heart disease should have routine annual medical checkups. In 2005, 63 percent of adults in Texas and Harris County indicated they had seen a physician in the past year. Sixty-six percent of Bexar County adults reported having a medical checkup in the past year. This is a decrease from 80 percent of Bexar County adults who reported checkups in 2002. In south Bexar County the number of adults reporting routine checkups dropped from 80 percent in 2002 to 63 percent in 2005. In the northern sectors of Bexar County the rate dropped from 80 percent in 2002 to 67 percent in 2005. It is possible that there is not a significant difference between the north and south sectors (sampling error is ± 4 percent), however the 13 to 17 drop in routine care is statistically significant.