Only 3.1% of BC’s total population are living with heart disease according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
The rate was cut in half between 2001 to 2011 from 13.4 per 10,000 people to 7.8 per 10,000 people.
“We’ve actually been making inroads when it comes to heart disease and we’ve been able to do that because people are living better, they’re eating better, they’re getting more exercise and it’s also because local governments, provincial governments, and the federal government are stepping up in terms of making communities more walkable,” says Jeff Sommers, director of health promotion.
He says while the provincial outlook seems rosy, hospitalization rates across the north are off the charts.
“People in northern BC have the highest rates of hospitalizations for heart disease at 281 per 100,000 is the hospitalization rate for the Northern Health Authority compared to 198 100,000 in BC.”
Sommers says there are several health issues that currently plague the region. “Northern BC has the highest rates of obesity and overweight and also smoking. Smoking definitely is the leading cause of heart disease.”
Heart disease remains the leading cause of premature death in Canada and around the world.