Wellness

Chronic Disease

Deaths Due to Heart Disease Down 18% since 2008

Chronic diseases – including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease – are costly yet largely preventable. Chronic illnesses contribute to approximately 70% of deaths in the United States each year and account for about 75% of the nation’s health-related costs. 1 This indicator reports prevalence and death data for heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure/stroke. Also tracked are hospitalizations due to heart disease.

Highest Rates of Chronic Diseases Among Counties.

How is San Bernardino County Doing?

Heart Disease: Percentage Ever Diagnosed and Death Rates

San Bernardino County, 2008-2017
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* Data considered unstable and should be interpreted with caution. Sources: California Health Interview Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2016 on CDC WONDER Online Database (//wonder.cdc.gov/)

Between 2016 and 2017, both heart disease prevalence and deaths increased:

  • In 2017, San Bernardino County’s death rate due to heart disease was 184.7 age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 residents. This marks a decrease of 18% since 2008 and a one-year decrease of 1% since 2016.
  • There has been a decrease in the percentage of county residents who were diagnosed with heart disease – from 8.2% in 2016 to 7.6% in 2017.2
  • In 2017, San Bernardino County’s prevalence rate for heart disease was the highest among neighboring counties, except for Orange County, and higher than the state.

Diabetes: Percentage Ever Diagnosed and Death Rates

San Bernardino County, 2008-2017
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Diabetes prevalence and deaths rates are on the rise:

  • In 2017, 14.6% of adults in San Bernardino County had been diagnosed with diabetes, the highest among all counties compared and California. 3
  • This marks an increase from 2016, when diabetes prevalence was 11.4%.
  • The long-term trend is also up, with an increase of four percentage points since 2009, when 10.6% of adults in the county had a diabetes diagnosis.
  • At 34.5 age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 residents in 2017, San Bernardino County had the state’s third highest rate of deaths due to diabetes, behind only Imperial and Kern counties.
  • Deaths due to diabetes increased from 33.2 per 100,000 residents in 2016 to 34.5 in 2017. The longer-term trend is also upward, increasing 13% since 2008.

High Blood Pressure: Percentage Ever Diagnosed and Death Rates due to Stroke

San Bernardino County, 2008-2017
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Between 2016 and 2017, prevalence of high blood pressure declined while deaths due to stroke increased:

  • In 2017, 29.7% of adults in San Bernardino County had high blood pressure, which is in the middle among neighboring counties compared and higher than California.
  • This marks a decrease of almost one and a half percentage points since 2016, when 31.1% of adults had high blood pressure.
  • Of adults diagnosed with high blood pressure, 68% are currently taking medications to control their high blood pressure.
  • Deaths due to strokes, which are associated with high blood pressure, increased 4% from 40.5 age- adjusted deaths per 100,000 in 2016 to 42.0 in 2017. 4 The long-term trend, however, is downward, with a 5% decline in deaths due to strokes since 2008.

Percentage Ever Diagnosed with Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, or Heart Disease

County Comparison, 2016
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* Data considered unstable and should be interpreted with caution. Source: California Health Interview Survey

Hospitalizations due to Coronary Heart Disease

In 2017, the hospitalization rate for heart disease in San Bernardino County was 85.1 per 10,000 residents (age-adjusted). This is significantly higher than the California hospitalization rate of 69.6 per 10,000 residents.

Note: This report presents longitudinal data for hospitalizations using 2008-2017 Census (ACS) population estimates. The San Bernardino County Community Transformation Plan also presents data related to heart disease hospitalizations. Because that plan presents a one-year snapshot for 2012, using 2010 Census population, the rates are not directly comparable.

Heart Disease Hospitalizations (Age-Adjusted Rate per 10,000)

San Bernardino County, 2008-2017
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Source: California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (2008-2017)
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/overview/index.htm) 2Prevalence of San Bernardino County residents who have been diagnosed with a heart disease are considered unstable for 2016 and 2017. Thus, caution should be taken when interpreting the data. 3Diabetes prevalence for 2017 considered unstable for San Bernardino County. Thus, caution should be taken when interpreting the data. 4Fully 70% of strokes can be directly linked to existing high blood pressure, making high blood pressure the single most important controllable stroke risk factor.