Stats: 30% more preventable heart disease deaths in rural vs. urban areas

Rural Americans - mainly older adults - are dying more frequently from preventable causes than their urban counterparts, according to a new report for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Specifically, the gap in percentages of preventable deaths widened between rural and urban settings from 2010-2017 for cancer, heart disease, and chronic lower respiratory diseases - conditions that affect many residents and members of active-aging communities. One example: in 2017, 44.9% of heart disease deaths in the most rural US counties were potentially preventable, compared with 18.5% in large metropolitan areas.