Summary

Published Date: October 01, 2016

​Despite advances in prevention and treatment, cardiovascular disease (CVD) claims more California lives than any other condition. While mortality from overall CVD has declined by more than one third since 2000, CVD still accounted for one in three deaths in the state and claimed the lives of 78,000 Californians in 2014. This is more than the next two leading causes of death, cancer (58,200 deaths) and chronic lower respiratory disease (12,750 deaths), combined.
 
Nearly one in three adults — over eight million Californians — are living with at least one of the most common forms of CVD — heart disease, heart failure, stroke, or hypertension (high blood pressure). Annual health care costs for CVD in California have been estimated at $37 billion — far greater than any other chronic condition. 

This report provides an overview of the burden of CVD in California. Key findings include:    
  • In 2014, cancer surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death in California for the first time. 
  • Mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) has decreased by 50 percent in California since 2000, and mortality from stroke has decreased by 45 percent. These declines are similar to declines seen in the United States overall during the past 15 years.
  • Mortality from heart failure in California increased between 2000 and 2006, then leveled off and has stayed stable since. This is in contrast to trends in heart failure mortality in the United States, which declined between 2000 and 2014. The reason for this difference between California and the United States is not clear.
  • Although mortality from CVD has declined among all racial and ethnic groups in California, disparities persist. Death rates from CVD overall, and from CHD, heart failure, and stroke among African Americans and Pacific Islanders are substantially higher than those of other groups. African Americans are hospitalized for heart attack, heart failure, and stroke far more frequently than other groups.
  • Californians with lower levels of education and income are more likely to report having at least one form of CVD than other groups. 

Data from the 2011-2012 and 2013–2014 California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS) were used.



Publication Authors:
  • Shannon M. Conroy
  • California Department of Public Health, Chronic Disease Control Branch
  • et al

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