Major cardiovascular disease (CVD) during 1997-1999 and major CVD hospital discharge rates in 1997 among women with diabetes--United States.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among all women and the risk for death from CVD among women with diabetes is two to four times higher than that for women without diabetes. The excess risk for death as the result of CVD among persons with diabetes is better understood than the excess risk for CVD morbidity. To estimate national CVD prevalence and CVD hospital use among women with diabetes, CDC and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) analyzed data from the 1997-1999 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the 1997 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). Findings indicate that the age-adjusted prevalence of major CVD for women with diabetes is twice that for women without diabetes and that the age-adjusted major CVD hospital discharge rate for women with diabetes is almost four times the rate for women without diabetes. These findings underscore the need to reduce risk factors associated with CVD among all women with diabetes through focused public health and clinical efforts.