May 22, 2019 -- Cancer deaths among middle-aged adults are falling in the United States, but heart disease deaths have increased in recent years, a new federal government report released Thursday finds. From 1999 to 2017, there was a 19% drop in cancer deaths among adults aged 45 to 64. Heart disease deaths in this age group fell 22% between 1999 and 2011, but increased 4% by 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CNN reported. Both women and men had similar patterns of decline in cancer deaths and recent rises in heart disease deaths. The largest increase (12%) in heart disease deaths was in white women, while Hispanic women had a decline. Blacks had the highest rates among women, and blacks had the largest increase among men, CNN reported. During the study period, cancer death rates were still higher than heart disease death rates. Cancer and heart disease are the leading causes of death among middle-aged Americans, accounting for about half of all deaths, according to the CDC.
Heart disease death rates among middle-aged adults in the US have risen while cancer deaths have fallen, according to a US government report. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that while heart disease-related deaths fell 22% between 1999 and 2011, they rose 4% in the subsequent six years. Meanwhile, cancer deaths among those aged 45-65 had fallen 19% in the same period. White women accounted for the largest increase in deaths from heart disease, at 12%, while Hispanic women saw a fall in mortality. “Cancer is one of our biggest killers,” CDC director Dr Thomas Frieden told reporters on Wednesday.