Heart Disease Mortality Among US Adults by County and Demographics (2018-2020)

Heart disease mortality data for US adults aged 35+ covers states, territories, and counties from 2018 to 2020. The dataset provides age-standardized and spatially smoothed rates, viewable by sex and race/ethnicity categories. It originates from the National Vital Statistics System and is maintained by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Use Cases

• Analyze age-standardized mortality rate disparities across sex and race/ethnicity categories.
• Map spatially smoothed county-level heart disease mortality rates to identify geographic clusters.
• Compare 3-year average mortality trends between states, territories, and counties.
• Investigate demographic patterns in cardiovascular disease outcomes using sex and race/ethnicity breakdowns.

Strengths

• Data spans a 3-year period (2018-2020), providing a multi-year average for stability.
• Rates are age-standardized and county-level rates are spatially smoothed, enhancing comparability.
• Includes breakdowns by key demographic variables: sex and race/ethnicity.
• Sourced from the authoritative National Vital Statistics System.

Limitations

• The underlying sample data and exact row/column counts are unavailable for assessing granularity.
• As a 3-year average for 2018-2020, the data does not provide single-year trends or more recent figures.
• Spatial smoothing may obscure localized mortality patterns in very small counties.

Provenance

Source

National Vital Statistics System, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Collection Method

Compiled from vital statistics records, with rates calculated as age-standardized 3-year averages.

Time Range

2018 to 2020 (3-year average).

Freshness

Data was last updated in February 2025, though the underlying time range ends in 2020.

Geography

United States, including states, territories, and counties.