By Janet Poveromo

In regards to cardiovascular health in this country, there was a little bit of good news earlier this year. New mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, since 1999, coronary heart disease and stroke age-adjusted death rates are down by 25.8 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively.

As encouraging as that is, heart disease and stroke remain the No. 1 and No. 3 causes of death for men and women in the US.

Potential problems loom in the future, however, as all major risk factors for these leading causes of death are still too high and several—such as obesity and type 2 diabetes—are actually on the rise.
Not surprisingly, the latest HealthFocus International Consumer Trend Report confirms that heart disease continues to be the No. 1 health issue for US consumers. Hypertension/high blood pressure ranks No. 8 and is a growing consumer concern.

While ranking eighth, hypertension is a significant and growing concern amongst 45 percent of the population, up from 40 percent in 2002, noted Peter Willis, senior marketing manager with DSM Nutritional Products, Inc. (Parsippany, NJ). “The American Heart Association estimates that about one in three US adults has high blood pressure, but because there are no symptoms, nearly one-third of these people don’t know they have it,” he added.

Attacking Different Fronts
With these statistics in mind, ingredient manufacturers are addressing cardiovascular health in broad terms.

First, they are looking into conducting more clinical trials on the proprietary and branded ingredients, said WH Leong, vice president of Carotech, Inc. (Edison, NJ), makers of Tocomin®.