Rural Residents More Likely to Die From Heart Disease Than Urban Residents - American College of Cardiology

Contact: Nicole Napoli, [email protected],

WASHINGTON (Nov 12, 2024) -

People who live in rural areas are dying from cardiovascular disease at a much greater rate than those living in urban areas, according to a report in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology, and presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024. The report shows the mortality disparity is greater in younger adults and was more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Leading up to the pandemic, cardiometabolic health was deteriorating in rural areas, particularly among younger adults," said Rishi Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, senior author of the study and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. "Cardiometabolic risk factor control worsened during the pandemic, and rural areas may have been more severely affected due to greater interruptions in access to health care and worsening socioeconomic conditions."

For this report, researchers looked at cardiovascular deaths between 2010 and 2022 and found that mortality rates were consistently higher in rural areas when compared to urban areas or small/medium metropolitan areas. Deaths increased in rural areas from 431.6 to 435 per 100,000 over the 12-year period, but mortality rates in urban areas declined from 369.3 to 345.5 per 100,000. Among younger rural adults, rates increased even more, rising from 111 to 119 deaths per 100,000, which was a change not seen in urban areas or older subgroups. By 2022, rural adults were dying from cardiovascular disease at a rate 1.5 times higher than their urban counterparts.

"Social risk factors and 'diseases of despair' (substance use, depression and suicidality) also increased disproportionately in rural areas during the pandemic, which may have made rural adults more susceptible to poor cardiovascular outcomes," Wadhera said. "Urgent action is needed to address the underlying social, economic and health system factors that contribute to worse cardiovascular health in rural communities."

Harlan M. Krumholz, Editor-in-Chief of JACC and Harold H. Hines Jr. Professor of Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, said "the findings underscore the critical need for targeted interventions to bridge the health gap between rural and urban populations. Without focused action, we risk deepening inequities that leave rural communities more vulnerable to preventable heart disease."

For a copy of the report publishing in JACC, contact ACC Director of Media Relations Nicole Napoli at [email protected].

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the global leader in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at www.ACC.org or follow @ACCinTouch.

The ACC's JACC Journals rank among the top cardiovascular journals in the world for scientific impact. The flagship journal, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) - and specialty journals consisting of JACC: Advances, JACC: Asia, JACC: Basic to Translational Science, JACC: CardioOncology, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, JACC: Case Reports, JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology and JACC: Heart Failure - pride themselves on publishing the top peer-reviewed research on all aspects of cardiovascular disease. Learn more at JACC.org.

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