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)

Hypertension and high blood pressure

Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke. The Healthy People 2010 goal is to reduce the number of adults who have high blood pressure to no more than 16 percent of the adult population. Those with chronic heart disease should have their blood pressure checked regularly. In 2002, 95 percent of Bexar County adults reported that their blood pressure had been checked in the past two years and 24 percent of Bexar County residents report that they have been told they have high blood pressure. Twenty-five percent of Texans reported in 2005 that they have been told by a health care professional that they have high blood pressure and twenty-two percent of Harris County has increased blood pressure. There has been no significant change in the percentage who report high blood pressure since 2002.

The sample size for Bexar County sectors is marginal for calculating reliable estimates of the percentage with high blood pressure. Estimates for North Bexar and South Bexar County sectors are both very close to the county average of 24 percent. Bexar County with lowest percentage reporting high blood pressure is higher than the Healthy People 2010 goal for hypertension.

Of those with high blood pressure, 83 percent of survey respondents indicated they are taking action to keep it under control. In 1998, 72 percent reported taking action to control their blood pressure. The Healthy People 2010 goal is that 95 percent of persons with high blood pressure will be taking action to keep it under control.

Another Healthy People 2010 goal is that 95 percent of the adult population will have their blood pressure checked at least every two years. Ninety-six percent of survey respondents said they had their blood pressure checked in 2002. In 1998 the response was essentially the same, with 94 percent having had their blood pressure checked. This meets the Healthy People 2010 goal.

High cholesterol

The Healthy People 2010 goal is to reduce the number of people who have high cholesterol to no more than 17 percent of the adult population. In Bexar County, 27 percent report that they have been told by a health professional that they have high cholesterol. This is higher than the 24 percent of Texans and 21 percent of Harris County residents.

Twenty-seven percent of Bexar County residents report having high cholesterol. The proportion with high cholesterol ranges from 13 to 35 percent across Bexar County sectors. The North Central and Northwest sectors are highest with, 35 and 34 percent reporting high cholesterol, respectively.

Respondents with high values were not asked if they are taking medication to control their cholesterol in the period 2004-2005. In 2002, sixty-nine percent of those with high cholesterol indicated that they have taken action to control the problem. Seventy-seven percent of Bexar County respondents in 2005 indicated that they had their cholesterol checked in the past 5 years. This is a decrease from 2002 when 89 percent said they had their cholesterol checked in the past 5 years.

Diabetes prevalence

Diabetes is frequently a co-morbid condition for people with chronic heart disease. In 2002, 11 percent of Bexar County residents reported they had been told by a health professional that they had diabetes. The 2004-2005 survey results from the BRFSS indicate no change in the percent of Bexar County residents who have been told they have diabetes. This estimate suggested that the proportion of people in Bexar County who report they have diabetes remains unchanged since 1998 when 11 percent of residents reported having diabetes. Although the reported diabetes rate in Bexar County is unchanged the rate is 40 percent higher than the 8 percent reported by all Texans.

The percentage of people reporting diabetes is highest in the southern part of the county. The East sector, with the highest concentration of African Americans, has a reported diabetic rate of 23 percent. In the heavily Hispanic West sector, 18 percent report having diabetes. However, the South sector is also largely populated by people of Hispanic ethnicity, but reports only 9 percent diabetic prevalence. In the north of Bexar County, the reported prevalence was lower. The Northwest sector has the lowest reported rate of 6 percent followed by the Northeast at 9 percent. The highest reported rate in the north is 11 percent in the North Central sector.