If you live past 40, you have a higher chance of dying from heart complications than in a car crash or COVID-19.
COVID-19 has been destructive for everyone in Florida.
The Sunshine state currently is the third in a total number of deaths due to COVID-19 complications, following Texas and California closely. Even though it has just over half the population of California, Florida has almost the same number of reported deaths. This has been nothing but a great tragedy.
While we're facing death from several sources, experts warn that Florida's biggest killers are not external viruses - but our lifestyles.
Coronary Artery Disease is the leading cause of death in Florida
Florida is not just breaking records when it comes to COVID-19. It's also among the leading states in heart disease, cancer, and strokes. We should follow safety guidelines when it comes to the pandemic, but also to what we do with ourselves.
Heart disease is responsible for 20% of all deaths in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Most of these deaths belong to coronary heart disease.
However, these figures are improving greatly. CAD's death rate has dwindled since 2005, from high 200 to 140, while the total number of deaths stayed roughly the same. Some 47,000 people will lose their life due to CAD complications this year, according to CDC.
What is Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)?
The heart is a complex organism that's keeping us alive. It's constantly pumping and regulating blood supplies. If something happens to the heart, our whole body is in danger. With constant pumping, cholesterol-made plaque can buildup in the walls of the arteries and narrow the blood flow.
Once the arteries get clogged up, our hearts start failing. And we're hit with a heart attack, which is the first sign of CAD. CAD is also known as Coronary Heart Disease or ischemic heart disease, and it's the fiercest killer known to Americans.
Heart attack is the most known symptom of CAD, and it's also when the majority notices they've reached a limit with their bodies. So even though heart attacks are symptoms of several other health complications, they're one of the indicators of CAD.
Symptoms of CAD
Not all cases of heart disease come wrapped with glaring symptoms.
However, the most common indicators that you may be suffering from CAD are:
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Pain or discomfort in the arms or shoulder
- General feelings of being unwell
- Cold sweats
If your heart may be at risk of CAD, please see your doctor straight away.
How to protect yourself from CAD?
Preventative measures for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) are possible. The most important step is maintaining a healthy lifestyle, with proper diet and exercise, not smoking, controlling blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and diabetes. It's also important to abstain from drinking alcohol.
While all these are proven to act favorably towards easing CAD, heart disease can be unpredictable.
How is CAD diagnosed?
Please, check CDC for more information and talk to your doctor.
Other leading causes of death in Florida:
- Heart Disease
- Cancer
- Stroke
- Accidents
- Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Diabetes Suicide
- Kidney Disease
- Chronic
- Liver Disease/Cirrhosis
If you live past 40, you have a higher chance of dying from heart complications, cancer or strokes, than in a car crash.
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