Heart Health and Stroke

Age-adjusted mortality for heart disease

More deaths are caused by heart disease in Bexar County than any other condition. In 2004, 2,693 deaths resulted from heart disease. Trend data indicate heart disease mortality rates have declined noticeably since 1992. This is similar to statewide age adjusted heart disease mortality rates. The 2004 Bexar County rate was 223 deaths per 100,000 people living in the county.

Throughout the county, the death rate due to heart disease varies from the lowest rate of 201 deaths per 100,000 people in the North Central sector, to 277 deaths per 100,000 people in the East sector. The high mortality rate in the East reflects the high heart disease hospitalization rate in the sector. The remaining sectors are similar to the statewide rate of 223 deaths per 100,000 people. The lower rates in the North Central and Northwest could reflect better standards of living. The fact that the average age at death for heart disease is between 75 and 76 years may affect the relatively small difference in age adjusted mortality rates across the county.

Years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to heart disease

Years of potential life lost demonstrate the burden of premature mortality in the community. In 2004, of the 2,693 heart disease deaths, 505 occurred to people younger than 65. This reflects the loss of 6,015 years of life or 448 years of potential life lost per 100,000 people living in Bexar County. This translates into 12 years of productive life lost, on average, for every person who dies before age 65. There has been a slow but steady decline in the premature mortality rate across Texas since 1992. In 1992, the YPLL rate in Bexar County was substantially different than other areas in the state. Since, in subsequent years, the rate is similar to other occurred only in that year.

The premature mortality rate due to heart disease in Bexar County is somewhat lower than the Harris County and Texas YPLL rates of 484. Across the county the mortality rate varies considerably from a low of 305 per 100,000 in the North Central sector, to the county’s high, in the East sector the rate is 754 YPLL per 100,000 population. The rate in the East Sector is 2.5 times greater than the YPLL rate in the North Central sector. In the East sector, the average number of years of life lost (12.5) is similar to the rest of the county but a higher proportion of people die from heart disease than in other sectors. It would appear that the northern sectors have somewhat of an advantage losing fewer years of potential life than the southern sectors.