Heart Disease Deaths, Down for Decades, Tick Up in Nebraska, U.S.

The number of heart disease-related deaths has declined for decades in the United States, a trend cardiologists attribute largely to the decline in smoking, the recognition and treatment of hypertension and high cholesterol and newer treatments.

“We’re capturing a lot of these patients earlier,” said Dr. William Nester, an interventional cardiologist with Methodist Health System. “We’re doing primary prevention with them where we’re starting them on medication before an event happens.”

Despite a remarkable shift, heart disease remains the nation’s leading cause of death. In Nebraska, heart disease trails cancer by a razor-thin margin as the leading life-taker. 

Omaha World-Herald: Heart Disease Deaths, Down for Decades, Tick Up in Nebraska, U.S.