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Study: Fewer Americans at low risk for heart disease

Category: General Wellness

In the reversal of a two-decade old trend, the percentage of U.S. citizens who are considered at a low risk for heart disease and stroke dropped significantly, a new study suggests.

According to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, only 7.5 percent of American men and women between the ages of 25 and 74 are considered as having a low risk for having heart disease and stroke. The drop erases positive strides made in the 1970s and 80s which lead to a peak at 10.5 percent in the early 1990s.

Dr Earl S. Ford, the study's lead author and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officer stated "Our analysis suggests that achieving low risk status for most U.S. adults remains a distant and challenging goal." Ford attributed the slumping figures to lifestyles which create an imbalance in the amount of energy consumed in food and the amount used in physical activity.

The CDC reports that in 2005, heart disease was responsible for 27.1 percent of all deaths in the U.S. In addition to improving diet and increasing exercise, the National Institutes of Health recommends blood pressure and cholesterol testing to ascertain one's risk of developing heart disease.