OAKLAND, Calif., April 3, 2018 —
Death rates from heart disease and stroke in adults under age 65 are
lower and dropping faster for Kaiser Permanente members in Northern
California than in the rest of the United States, according to new research published today in the American Journal of Medicine.
Heart disease and stroke are leading causes of death in the United
States. The new study, “Comparative Trends in Heart Disease, Stroke, and
Total Mortality in the United States and a Large, Integrated Healthcare
Delivery System,” reinforces the effectiveness of Kaiser Permanente’s
ongoing cardiovascular care initiatives.
The researchers compared mortality data from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention with Kaiser Permanente Northern California data.
They found that heart disease death rates among adults aged 45 to 65
fell by 48.3 percent in 3.2 million Kaiser Permanente members from 2000
to 2015, compared to a 23.6 percent decline nationwide. Stroke-related
deaths for the same age group fell by 55.8 percent among Kaiser
Permanente members compared to a nationwide drop of 26.0 percent.
The study also showed that overall rates of heart disease and stroke
mortality are lower for these Kaiser Permanente members than in the rest
of the country. In 2000, for instance, U.S. heart disease mortality was
39.3 percent higher than the Kaiser Permanente group, while stroke
mortality was about the same for both. But by 2015, U.S. heart disease
mortality was 43.2 percent higher and stroke mortality 13.3 percent
higher than among the Kaiser Permanente members.
Lead author Steve Sidney, MD, senior research scientist
“We think elements of Kaiser Permanente’s approach can be replicated
by other health care systems to lower mortality rates,” said lead author
Stephen Sidney, MD, MPH, senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research.
“Most heart disease and stroke-related deaths occur in people over 65,
but mortality is still high for middle-aged members, so focusing on this
vulnerable group could save many lives.”
Dr. Sidney believes improved management of high blood pressure could
be especially effective, given the condition’s prevalence and the
relative ease and affordability of treatment. Introduced in 2001, Kaiser
Permanente’s hypertension management program in Northern California nearly doubled the rate of blood pressure control in adults with hypertension by 2009. Likewise, two previous studies
showed that the rate of more severe but less common heart attacks fell
about three quarters from 1999 to 2014 among the region’s members.
Jamal Rana, MD, Kaiser Permanente cardiologist and adjunct researcher
“These studies add to a growing body of evidence in support of Kaiser
Permanente’s comprehensive approach to cardiovascular health, which
combines high-quality preventive and therapeutic interventions,” said
senior author Jamal S. Rana, MD, PhD, cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center and adjunct researcher at the Division of Research.
In addition to its hypertension management program, Kaiser Permanente’s cardiovascular care initiatives include the Preventing Heart Attacks and Strokes Every day (or PHASE) program, which uses medications and lifestyle changes to improve heart health.
This study was conducted in the Cardiovascular Research Network, a consortium within the Health Care Systems Research Network.
In addition to Drs. Sidney and Rana, co-authors were Michael E. Sorel, MPH, Charles P. Quesenberry, PhD, Matthew D. Solomon, MD, PhD, Mai N. Nguyen-Huynh, MD, MAS, and Alan S. Go, MD, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research; and Marc G. Jaffe, MD, Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center.
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