Cancer on Course to Become Americans ' Top Killer

http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20160824/cancer-on-course-to-become-top-killer-of-americansCancer on Course to Become Americans ' Top KillerReport shows it will probably eclipse heart disease as leading cause of death in coming yearsWebMD News from HealthDayBy Dennis ThompsonHealthDay ReporterWEDNESDAY, Aug. 24, 2016 (HealthDay News) --Cancer is on track to become the leading cause of death in the United States, closing in onheart disease as America ' s number one killer, a new government study shows.Heart disease has consistently been the leading cause of death for decades, and remained so in 2014, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.But the gap betweenheart disease and the second-leading cause of death,cancer, has been narrowing since 1968, the researchers said.Cancer actually surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death for 22 states in 2014, the study found. Back in 2000, Alaska and Minnesota were the only two states where cancer killed more people than heart disease.In addition, cancer is now the leading cause of death for a number of minority groups, including Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders, the report showed." It ' s been edging this way for a while, " said co-author Robert Anderson, chief of the Mortality Statistics Branch at the NCHS. " We ' ve taken for granted thatheart disease is the leading cause of death, but now because of prevention efforts and adv...
Source: Dr Portnay - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs