The rate of death from heart disease has decreased over the years. Research indicates that the decline in heart disease deaths is linked to decreased cigarette smoking, improvements in hypertension treatment and control, increased use of statins to lower cholesterol, and improved treatments/interventions to limit or prevent heart attacks (Circ Res. 2017;120:366-380. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.309115).

Each data point represents five (5) years of aggregated data. The years listed on the x-axis of the chart represent the end-point of the five years (for example, 2012 includes data from 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, & 2012).

Rates are age-adjusted to the US 2000 population. Rates are age-adjusted to eliminate differences in crude rates that result from differences in the populations’ age distributions from year to year.

The target was developed as part of Healthy Connecticut 2020 and Live Healthy Connecticut, A Coordinated Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Plan.

These data are current as of December 2022.  New data will be made available in the Fall of 2023.

For more cardiovascular diseases statistics, visit www.ct.gov/dph/heartstrokedata.

Potential Partners:
Connecticut Department of Public Health; Connecticut Department of Agriculture; Connecticut Department of
Social Services; Department of Rehabilitation Services State Unit on Aging; Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection;
Office of the Healthcare Advocate; local public health agencies; health care providers including community health
centers, hospitals, nurses and physicians; health professional associations; health insurers; pharmaceutical
companies; other businesses and business associations; American Heart Association; other organizations and
coalitions focused on heart disease and stroke; community service providers that serve seniors and other at-risk
populations; philanthropic and research organizations that address heart disease and stroke; schools of public
health, allied health, nursing, and medicine; faith-based organizations; and others.

The Guide to Community Preventive Services Task Force made the following recommendations regarding cardiovascular disease prevention and control:
1. Clinical Decision Support Systems can increase the quality of cardiovascular care. Clinical Decision Support Systems are computer-based information systems designed to assist healthcare providers in implementing clinical guidelines at the point of care.
2. Reduced out-of-pocket costs for patients is associated with improvements in medication adherence, and blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes.
3. Team-based care led to better control of high blood pressure. Team-based care to improve blood pressure control is a health systems-level, organizational intervention that incorporates a multidisciplinary team to improve the quality of hypertension care for patients.

Advocate for insurance coverage for preventive care and disease management programs, and explore insurance incentives for wellness activities

Conduct public awareness campaigns related to diet, exercise, weight control, smoking cessation, and screenings

Conduct provider education on health promotion and referrals to community resources; patient education on blood pressure self-monitoring

Promote multi-sector collaboration to improve access to preventive services

Expand use of health information technology; develop self-management interventions linking community and clinical services; develop interventions to address social determinants of health