Jill Murphy, Assistant Editor

Data from the CDC on heart disease in the United States found that the population’s susceptibility to heart disease varies depending on the state and county, according to an analysis from ValuePenguin.

ValuePenguin consolidated the CDC’s state and county information for middle-aged adults between aged 45 and 64 years, as well as seniors to break down the effects that heart attacks, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and stroke have on communities across the country. The most recent data was compiled from deaths per 100,000 residents, from 2016 to 2018. The databases also provided information on the cost of Medicare, the number of uninsured Americans, and those living in poverty.

The analysis showed that people living in the South are disproportionately affected by fatal heart conditions, including heart attacks, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and strokes. Further, heart disease is responsible for more fatalities relative to population in the South than the rest of the country, with the rate of fatal cases being nearly 1/8 higher than average.

Of all the states, Mississippi had the highest rate of deaths from all forms of heart disease relative to its population, with 301 fatal cases of heart disease per 100,000 people. Arkansas led the country in fatal heart attacks and coronary heart disease, where the rate at which people died from heart attacks was triple the country’s average, according to the analysis.

In Oklahoma, hypertension killed 123% more people than average, whereas people in Mississippi were the most likely to die from strokes, though its population had only a 38% greater chance of experiencing a fatal stroke than the rest of the country.

The analysis also found that men have a much greater risk than women of dying from heart disease and are approximately 3 times as likely as women to die from coronary heart disease or a heart attack.

Additionally, the CDC found that Black Americans were more likely to die from heart disease than other groups. Compared to the average of all other races, middle-aged Black men and women were more than 2 times more likely to die from hypertension and strokes.

In 9 of the 10 counties with the highest proportion of cardiovascular deaths, more than 20% of residents were below the poverty line, according to the analysis. Lack of access to health care can be another problem facing areas that have notably high rates of cardiovascular deaths. Of the 10 counties most at risk of fatal cases of heart disease, there were 4 counties with 0 hospitals. While the number of uninsured residents in the most at-risk counties is mostly aligned with the national average, the cost of Medicare per capita is higher than average in 6 of 10.

Heart disease kills 13% more people than average in the southern United States. ValuePenguin. Published September 14, 2020. Accessed September 23, 2020. 

https://www.valuepenguin.com/who-is-at-risk-of-heart-disease

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The databases also provided information on the cost of Medicare, the number of uninsured Americans, and those living in poverty.







Study: Heart Disease Kills 13% More People in the South Than US Average

Walgreens won the ‘Digital/Mobile Health Solutions’ category in the Fierce Innovation Awards - Healthcare Edition 2020. The annual competition highlights companies that demonstrated innovative solutions that have had the greatest potential to save money, engage patients, or revolutionize the industry over the past year, according to a press release.

The company’s digital health platform, Walgreens Find Care®, helps patients navigate their health care experience virtually, including by accessing convenient in-person and virtual doctor visits to manage chronic conditions. Patients are able to access more than 40 trusted providers that together offer more than 60 services and treat more than 100 conditions.

Walgreens Find Care® can flex and expand to meet emerging and current societal and health issues, according to an email sent to 

 For example, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Walgreens was able to expand the Walgreens Find Care® platform to include new features and telehealth service providers. With guidance from the CDC, the app was able to perform the following tasks:

Help patients connect with a Walgreens COVID-19 testing site.

Allow users to assess their risk for having COVID-19 through the use of a COVID-19 risk assessment tool based on CDC guidelines.

Guide individuals to relevant COVID-19 clinical trials in their area by using the Find My Clinical Trial program.

“We are honored to win this award for the innovative ways Walgreens helps make healthcare simpler, more accessible and more convenient,” said Giovanni Monti, senior vice president of healthcare services of Walgreens Boots Alliance, in a press release. “As a company focused on providing omni-channel solutions that address barriers to healthcare, we have designed Walgreens Find Care® to be the digital ‘front door’ to an integrated healthcare and pharmacy experience. Our goal is that Americans in all communities have convenient access to personalized, high-quality care that helps them lead healthier and happier lives.”

Walgreens Find Care wins Fierce Innovation Award [email]. Sent September 14, 2020. Accessed September 21, 2020.

Walgreens Find Care® receives high honors from Fierce Healthcare. Walgreens. 

https://news.walgreens.com/press-releases/general-news/walgreens-find-care-receives-high-honors-from-fierce-healthcare.htm

. Published September 14, 2020. Accessed September 21, 2020.

Walgreens won the ‘Digital/Mobile Health Solutions’ category in the Fierce Innovation Awards - Healthcare Edition 2020. 

Walgreens Receives Honor for Digital and Mobile Health Solutions in Fierce Innovation Awards 2020

The FDA has approved fluticasone furoate, umeclidinium, and vilanterol (Trelegy Ellipta, GSK) for use in adults with asthma that remains uncontrolled despite treatment with their current maintenance therapy. This is the first and only, once-daily single inhaler triple therapy approved for the treatment of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to GSK.

Andrew Thomas, vice president of Respiratory Business Unit at GSK, said this approval holds major significance for adults with uncontrolled asthma despite treatment with their current maintenance therapy. Due to the challenges that physicians may face to train their patients and prepare them for treatments, as well as the struggle for patients to remember how to take the treatment, this therapy will make a difference.

“There have been multiple inhaler triple therapies used in asthma previously, with a combination of at least 2 inhalers with different dosing regimens,” Thomas said in an interview with 

. “With Trelegy Ellipta, it is only one inhalation a day in a triple therapy.”

The approval was based off the results of the CAPTAIN study conducted in adults 18 years of age and older whose asthma was inadequately controlled despite treatment with ICS/LABA maintenance asthma medication.

The data showed that in patients with uncontrolled moderate or severe asthma on inhaled corticosteroid plus long-acting β 2-agonists, adding umeclidinium improved lung function but did not lead to a significant reduction in moderate and/or severe exacerbations. Further, these patients are recommended to use the single inhaler fluticasone furoate, umeclidinium, and vilanterol due to its favorable, high-risk benefit profile.

Thomas mentioned that not only is this treatment more convenient, but it is 100 ml of improvement in lung function to help patients feel better, breathe easier, and live a fuller life with their asthma.

“We hope that with the addition of these new indications that more adult asthmatics in the United States can get control of asthma symptoms and live better lives because of this, and the same goes for COPD patients,” Thomas said in an interview with 

. “Having this inhaler should make a big difference in the lives of those patients.”

GSK’s Trelegy Ellipta the First Once-Daily, Single Inhaler Triple Therapy Approved for Asthma [email]. Accessed September 18, 2020.

Lee LA, Bailes Z, Barnes N, et al. Efficacy and safety of once-daily single-inhaler triple therapy (FF/UMEC/VI) versus FF/VI in patients with inadequately controlled asthma (CAPTAIN): a double-blind, randomised, phase 3A trial. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Doi:

https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30389-1

This is the first and only, once-daily single inhaler triple therapy approved for the treatment of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

FDA Approves Trelegy Ellipta as First Single Inhaler Triple Therapy for Asthma

the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study showed that vaping marijuana and nicotine rose sharply in the past 3 years among college age students, or students between 19 and 22 years of age, according to a press release.

The percentage of college students who said they vaped marijuana in the past 30 days grew from 5.2% in 2017 to 14% in 2019. Additionally, the corresponding percentages for their non-college-attending peers increased from 7.8% in 2017 to 17% in 2019. 

MTF is an ongoing study of the trends in substance use by adolescents and adults in the United States, with the survey conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research.

The study showed that the percentage of college-age adults between 19 and 22 years of age who vaped nicotine also rose dramatically between 2017 and 2019. In 2017, 6.1% of college students and 7.9% of those not in college said they vaped nicotine in the past month, increasing to 22% and 18% in 2019, respectively. These increases in vaping marijuana and nicotine are among the largest seen for any substance use reported by the study in its 45-year history, according to the study authors.

“We are seeing an increasingly concerning trend,” said Nora D. Volkow, MD, director of NIDA in a press release. “Many young people may view vaping and cannabis use as ‘safer’, but the reality is that nicotine is highly addictive, and cannabis can also be addictive, particularly in younger adults for whom the brain is still developing.”

The results are based on data from college students 1 to 4 years beyond high school graduation who are enrolled full-time in a 2- or 4-year college in March of the given year, compared with same-age high school graduates not enrolled full-time in college.

The 2019 data also revealed a continuing high prevalence of marijuana use among 

young adults, who are 19 to 22 years of age. In 2018, 43% of this group reported using marijuana in the past year, with this percentage being unchanged in 2019. The prevalence of daily or near-daily use of marijuana (15%) was significant among those not attending college in 2019. This is compared to 5.9% of college students who reported daily or near-daily use of marijuana.

Other highlights in the survey results include the downward trend of cigarette smoking in college students, with only 7.6% of respondents reporting having smoked in the past month. Further, binge drinking has been declining gradually over the past few decades, showing no significant changes for young adults attending or not attending college. Prescription opioid misuse and amphetamine use are also shown to be on a continued decline for college students, according to the study authors.

Vaping, marijuana use in 2019 rose in college-age adults. NIH. 

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/vaping-marijuana-use-2019-rose-college-age-adults

. Published September 15, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2020.

The 2019 survey results from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study showed that vaping marijuana and nicotine rose sharply in the past 3 years among college age students, or students between 19 and 22 years of age.

Author | Jill Murphy, Assistant Editor

Articles

Study: Heart Disease Kills 13% More People in the South Than US Average

Walgreens Receives Honor for Digital and Mobile Health Solutions in Fierce Innovation Awards 2020

FDA Approves Trelegy Ellipta as First Single Inhaler Triple Therapy for Asthma

National Study Shows Vaping, Marijuana Use in 2019 Rose in College-Age Adults