Volusia County, Fla. - Deaths caused by heart disease have increased by more than nine percent in Volusia County. That’s one of the findings in a new data brief compiled by the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County. From 2010-2014, Volusia County had higher death rates from heart disease than the state.

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Volusia County,” said Patricia Boswell, Department of Health (DOH) in Volusia County administrator. “That’s the message from this brief. We’re bringing it to the community’s attention so that they can take steps now to decrease their risk factors before heart disease affects their quality of life.”

The report looked at deaths, emergency department visits and hospitalizations due to heart disease in Volusia’s four quadrants, ZIP codes and among three races – white, black and Hispanic. It also includes the cost of heart disease by analyzing emergency department costs.

Disease and death rates were not uniform across the county either by geography or race, Boswell said. For example, Northeast Volusia had the highest age-adjusted death rate for heart disease in 2014 while Southwest Volusia had the lowest. Age-adjusted rates are used to reduce the potential confounding effects of advancing years on a population.

It’s not all bad news according to the data. Black residents in Southeast Volusia saw an 87 percent decrease in heart disease from 2010 to 2014.

The cause of the reported disparities by geography and race may be attributed to several factors, Boswell said. For example, only 20 percent of the factors that affect health are related to clinical care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other factors in addition to clinical care include socioeconomic status, physical environment and health behaviors.

“That’s why the health department takes a holistic approach to improving public health,” Boswell added. “We survey the entire community to determine the barriers to good health and then prioritize them for an action plan.”

DOH-Volusia County has been working with community partners to identify and prioritize health issues as part of a Community Health Needs Assessment. Those findings will guide the development of a community-wide improvement plan including a portfolio of interventions and strategies to improve the health and well-being of the Volusia County community, Boswell said.

Heart disease is an abnormal function of the heart or blood vessels that can lead to increased risk for heart attack, heart failure, sudden death, stroke and cardia rhythm problems.

Periodic data briefs are issued by DOH-Volusia to not only provide guidance to public health staff, local providers and decision makers as they work to improve their services, but also to monitor the community’s health status and facilitate healthy lifestyle choices using timely data from Volusia County. Recent topics include hospitalizations by nutritional deficiencies, toddler deaths by drowning and life expectancy.

Public health data brief and reports are online at VolusiaHealth.com.

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