title: Circulatory disease mortality in the very elderly.
abstract: I describe circulatory disease mortality in age groups 85 years and over, as available from Vital Statistics of the United States. Mortality rates from all circulatory disease combined, from ischemic heart disease, and from cerebrovascular diseases increase faster with age than the mortality rate from all causes combined. The kinds of circulatory diseases causing death change with age. Although men and black people have higher mortality rates from circulatory diseases than women and white people through early old age, the gaps narrow with age, and there are sex and racial crossovers in later old age. Age groups 85 years and over have had smaller decreases in mortality rates from circulatory diseases since 1960 than middle-aged and younger elderly age groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611-2611, USA.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends*; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American