Heart Disease Is the Nation's, Southwest Iowa's No. 1 Killer

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the United States, responsible for nearly 700,000 deaths in 2020.

It kills indiscriminately, but equally, with no regard for gender or ethnic or racial background. In southwest Iowa, it kills people at a significantly higher rate than the national average.

A number of factors can go into causing heart disease, from personal lifestyle to the environment you live and work in, to the genetics you’re born with.

“We have a lot of farmers in rural areas who may not get checked,” said Dr. Robert Armbruster, a cardiologist at Methodist Jennie Edmundson. “So they might live with high blood pressure and say, ‘Hey, you know, haven’t had to see my doctor,’ so that’s not always good.”

The Daily Nonpareil: Heart disease is the nation's, southwest Iowa's No. 1 killer