Map Details: Heart Disease Mortality by Maryland Census Tract, 2011–2015

Impact Statement

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Maryland, accounting for 55,440 deaths between 2011 and 2015.

Heart disease mortality rates were mapped at the census tract level, with a diverging color scheme to help identify which tracts fell above or below the state rate. Western Maryland, the Lower Eastern Shore, and Baltimore City were areas with a large percentage of census tracts with age-adjusted heart disease mortality rates above the state rate.

Key Points

Major Findings

More than 19% of Maryland census tracts (n = 267) had an age-adjusted heart disease mortality rate at least one and a half times the rate for the state of Maryland (171.0 per 100,000).

How the map will be used, or has been used

By displaying the burden of heart disease across the state, this map identifies priority areas for local public health programs that address heart disease and associated risk factors such as hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity.

ArcGIS 10.5

1. Maryland Vital Statistics Administration. Age-Adjusted Death Rates due to Heart Disease by Census Tract, 2011–2015. Age-adjusted based on 2011–2015 American Community Survey data.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC WONDER. Age-Adjusted Death Rates due to Heart Disease by State, 2011-2015. Age-adjusted to the Census 2000 standard population.

Heart disease mortality rates were classified in quartiles, with a diverging color scheme to help identify which census tracts fell above or below the state rate.

Kristi Pier, Director, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Maryland Department of Health
410-767-6722
kristi.pier@maryland.gov

Kristi Pier, Maryland Department of Health; accessed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Chronic Disease GIS Exchange https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/maps/gisx/mapgallery/MD-heart-disease.html