Map Details – Nebraska Heart Disease Mortality over Time

Impact Statement

Heart disease is the second leading cause of death and hospitalization in Nebraska. This county-level map demonstrates the geographic disparities that exist in age-adjusted heart disease mortality rates in Nebraska over time. The map is separated into two time periods, one from 2002-2006 and another from 2007-2011. The map uses the first maps mortality rates for both maps in order to show the change in mortality rates over time. For the earlier period of 2002-2006 the rates are highest in the Northeast and the south-central section of the state. In 2007-2011 mortality rates have gone down in almost all areas of the state. Mortality rates are still a little bit higher in the south-central but even these are lower overall.

Nebraska Heart Disease Mortality over Time

This map will be helpful in determining the concentration of mortality due to heart disease among the two time periods. It will also be helpful to look at where heart disease mortality remains high in 2007-2011 and why there has not been a reduction in these counties mortality.

ArcMap 10.0

Death Certificate Data from the Nebraska Department of Vital Records 2002-2011.

County level mortality data are compiled in two 5-year time periods. Age-adjusted rates (2000 US Standard Population) for all counties across all time periods are ranked into quintiles, with those quintile cutpoints held constant across the three time periods. This allows the viewer to see both the relative ranking of each county within each time period, but follow the general decline across all counties over the time period.

David DeVries, Health Surveillance Specialist, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
(402) 471-3279
david.devries@nebraska.gov

Nebraska Heart Disease Mortality over Time David DeVries, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, [TODAY’S DATE].