(Press-News.org) Heart disease mortality is on the rise in California, accelerated by socioeconomic disparities that disproportionately impact marginalized communities, according to a study being presented at ACC Quality Summit 2025 taking place October 14 – 16 in Denver. It’s crucial to align prevention with equity and implement data-driven, community-focused interventions that address this heightened cardiovascular burden in low-income communities, the authors said.
“By using state and federal data, I wanted to identify which risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and smoking remain inadequately addressed by existing interventions,” said Ryan Nazari, the study’s lead author and an independent researcher based in Modesto, California. “The purpose was not only to measure disparities but also to highlight gaps where current strategies fall short.”
The researchers used data from the CDC WONDER database, the California Department of Public Health and peer-reviewed studies to analyze trends in cardiovascular disease burden across several California counties. The study focused on county-level mortality, income, and prevalence of comorbidities, like hypertension and diabetes, between 2018-2022.
The results found heart disease mortality increased from 141 deaths per 100,000 people in 2018 to 147.8 deaths per 100,000 people in 2020-2021. Low income, advanced age and male gender had a particularly strong impact on a region’s mortality rate. High rates of hypertension, obesity and diabetes were associated with a higher risk of heart disease mortality.
The mortality rates varied significantly based on the average income of each county. For example, Marin County maintained an average income of $142,785 and had a morality rate of 44 per 100,000 people, while Fresno County had an average income of $71,434 and had a 105.5 mortality rate. Similarly, Kern County maintained an average income of $67,660 and had an 89.2 mortality rate.
“Even though California overall has seen improvements in some cardiovascular health indicators, several counties continue to experience disproportionately high rates of disease and related risk factors,” Nazari said. “These differences highlight that statewide progress has not been consistent, and that interventions must be better tailored to the needs of communities with higher burdens of heart disease.”
Heart disease prevention must address systemic barriers in low-income communities to mitigate these higher cardiovascular risks, the researchers said. Nazari recommended implementing community-based interventions that prioritize expanding education on nutrition, exercise and preventive care and enhanced accessibility to screenings and treatment in underserved areas. Additionally, introducing policy measures that address social drivers of health, such as income inequality and food insecurity, could help alleviate the cardiovascular mortality burden in these high-risk communities.
“I expected to see variation between counties, but I was surprised at how strongly socioeconomic differences correlated with higher heart disease burden. The data showed that inequities are both persistent and widespread, which emphasizes the need for solutions that reach beyond standard medical care,” Nazari said.
While this study focused on California, the authors believe that the findings could resonate more broadly across the United States.
“Many states face similar challenges of rising heart disease burden and uneven access to preventive resources. Because California is large and diverse in terms of socioeconomic conditions and population size, it can act as a useful case study for how health disparities appear elsewhere,” Nazari said.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is a global leader dedicated to transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. For more than 75 years, the ACC has empowered a community of over 60,000 cardiovascular professionals across more than 140 countries with cutting-edge education and advocacy, rigorous professional credentials, and trusted clinical guidance. From its world-class JACC Journals and NCDR registries to its Accreditation Services, global network of Chapters and Sections, and CardioSmart patient initiatives, the College is committed to creating a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at www.ACC.org or connect on social media at @ACCinTouch.
###
END
WASHINGTON—The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) has published a comprehensive roadmap that details the use of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) to guide structural heart disease (SHD) interventions for clinicians. ICE represents a significant departure from the traditional reliance on transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) by providing clinicians with real-time, high-resolution imaging from inside the heart without the need for general anesthesia.
Published in JSCAI, “SCAI Position Statement on Intracardiac Echocardiography to Guide Structural Heart Disease Interventions” ...
New research finds that “man’s best friend” may help slow biological aging in women. This groundbreaking study, focused on female veterans in the United States, is among the first to examine the impact of working with service dogs on this often-overlooked population. By measuring biological indicators of stress, the researchers have uncovered a key insight: the way stress is felt emotionally doesn’t always reflect how it affects the body at a cellular level.
While women have served in the U.S. military for generations, ...
A study finds that a representative sample of people given wearable data collection devices provides more equitable and accurate health data than larger convenience samples of people who already own wearable devices. Leveraging the smartwatches and other data-logging wearables that people already have is a tempting way to gather data, but such groups overrepresent the wealthy, urban, White, and fit people who tend to buy these products. Ritika Chaturvedi and colleagues recruited 1,038 participants for American Life in Realtime (ALiR), a longitudinal health study that provided Fitbits ...
High-growth firms (HGFs) refer to businesses that achieve rapid growth in terms of employees or revenue. Based on the established definition, HGFs are businesses with at least 10 employees and annual growth rates of 20% or more, observed over a period of three years. This three-year span is considered the high-growth (HG) period of the company. Even though this growth is often short-lived and difficult to sustain, it plays a significant role in driving economic dynamism. Hence, entrepreneurship-related research often focuses on the growth ...
Work engagement is a positive and persistent state of mind related to one’s work. It is characterized by high energy and mental resilience (vigor), enthusiasm and involvement (dedication), and complete concentration in the task at hand (absorption). Engaged workers are not merely more productive; they are more likely to be proactive, creative, and less susceptible to burnout. Most importantly, work engagement has been consistently linked to many health benefits and overall well-being.
Despite its relevance for both organizations and workers alike, there aren’t many scientifically proven ...
CLEVELAND—Even as autumn days grow shorter, a warming climate means Ohio winters aren't as cold as they were just a few decades ago, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.
This increasing mismatch between hours of daylight and temperature could spell trouble for animals that thrive by relying on seasonal cues to prepare their bodies for winter, according to new research from Case Western Reserve University.
Scientists studying gray tree frogs—a species that survives freezing temperatures by storing “antifreeze” compounds in their bodies—have discovered that these amphibians naturally begin to prepare for winter by responding ...
Seattle, WASH.—October 7, 2025—In a powerful fusion of AI and neuroscience, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Allen Institute designed an AI model that has created one of the most detailed maps of the mouse brain to date, featuring 1,300 regions/subregions. This new map includes previously uncharted subregions of the brain, opening new avenues for neuroscience exploration. The findings were published today in Nature Communications. They offer an unprecedented level of detail and advance our understanding of the brain by allowing researchers ...
AI and omics unlock personalized drugs and RNA therapies for heart disease
AI, omics, and systems biology can now help scientists design targeted drugs for cardiovascular disease pathways once thought “untreatable.”
A new article published in Frontiers in Science says these tools could transform heart drug development and save lives—but that global, equitable health policy leadership is urgently needed.
Despite major advances in cardiovascular care, heart disease remains the world’s leading cause of death. This is partly because cardiovascular medicine still largely relies on broad-brush ...
The June 2023 heatwave in northern European seas was “unprecedented but not unexpected”, new research shows.
During the heatwave, temperatures in the shallow seas around the UK (including the North Sea and Celtic Sea) reached 2.9°C above the June average for 16 days.
While unprecedented since observations began, the study warns that rapid climate change means there is now about a 10% chance of a marine heatwave of this scale occurring each year.
The June 2023 marine heatwave significantly disrupted phytoplankton blooms. Although its full impact ...
In a significant step towards improving road safety, Johns Hopkins University researchers have developed an A.I.-based based tool that can identify the risk factors contributing to car crashes across the United States and to accurately predict future incidents.
The tool, called SafeTraffic Copilot, aims to provide experts with both crash analyses and crash predictions to reduce the rising number of fatalities and injuries that happen on U.S. roads each year.
The work, led by Johns Hopkins ...
