Heart disease deaths in middle-aged women on the rise

A rise in risk factors like obesity along with the high cost of health care and insurance may play a role.

Death rates from heart disease are rising for middle-aged adults — white women, in particular — according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The increase comes after more than a decade of decreasing death rates from heart disease for this age group. In fact, for other age groups — namely, those 20 to 44, and 65 and up — heart disease death rates did not increase.

Middle-aged adults are “losing ground,” said Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, who was not involved with the CDC report. And this is not the first time such findings have been reported; there have been hints for years.

“We’ve got to stop patting ourselves on the back” about the decreasing rates of heart disease deaths, Hayes told NBC News. “We’ve taken our feet off the gas pedal.”

Read more at NBC News