Western Oklahoma Black Women have highest heart disease death rates

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A group of counties in western Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of heart disease deaths among black women in the nation, a federal report said. <br><br>The Centers for Disease

Thursday, February 17th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A group of counties in western Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of heart disease deaths among black women in the nation, a federal report said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-sponsored report, released Wednesday, maps national heart disease death rates fo rwomen 35 and older in certain ethnic groups. The four-year study showed black women in 11 western Oklahoma counties and Atoka County in southeast Oklahoma died from heart disease at rates dramatically higher than the rest of the nation. Counties included in the high-risk cluster were Jackson, Greer, Kiowa, Beckham, Washita, Custer, Dewey, Blaine, Caddo, Grady and Comanche.

Nationally, about 553 out of every 100,000 black women die from heart disease, the leading cause of death for women. In the 12 counties with higher-than-average problems for black women, rates ranged from 785 to 1,276 per 100,000 black women. Overall, white women die at a rate of 388 per 100,000; Hispanic women's deaths are 265 per 100,000; American Indians, 259 per100,000 and Asian and Pacific Island women, 221 per 100,000.

The study found women living in the rural South were more likely to die from heart disease than those in Western states and the upper Midwest. The lowest heart disease death rates for women were in the Pacific Northwest, sections of Wisconsin, the Dakotas and the Rocky Mountains.

On the other hand, American Indian women may be healthier here than in other parts of the United States. Twelve counties in central, southeast and northeast Oklahoma had heart disease death rates lower than the national average. The women were predominantly from the Cherokee Nation. "The report begs a lot of questions," said Mike McLaughlin, Oklahoma Heart Association spokesman. "We'll work with the health department to identify what's happening."

McLaughlin said the new county-by-county report will allow agencies to target areas that need the most heart-related health services and education. Heart disease kills about 370,000 American women each year, more than all forms of cancer combined. In Oklahoma, about 5,700 women die from heart disease each year.