Japan has the lowest coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rate in the world [1].
The highest number of CVD deaths occurred in China, followed by India, Russia, the US and Indonesia. At the country level, age-standardized mortality rates for total CVD were lowest in France, Peru and Japan where rates were six-fold lower in 2019 than in 1990.
Natural antioxidants in wine, which are also found in tea, grapes and other fruits, help keep LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in a less-damaging form. French wine drinkers also tend to practice several healthy habits like keeping active and eating more than an average amount of vegetables and beans.
Low obesity, low intake of saturated fatty acids, and high intakes of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, plant foods such as soybeans and nonsugar-sweetened beverages such as green tea may contribute to low cancer and ischemic heart disease mortality.
WHY DO THE TSIMANE PEOPLE HAVE THE 'HEALTHIEST HEARTS'? The University of New Mexico, which conducted a 2017 study, reported that the Tsimane had better cardiovascular health than ever has been measured in any other population.
In 2020, South Korea had the lowest rate of death from ischemic heart disease among OECD countries at around 29 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. This statistic shows the death rate from heart attacks and other ischemic heart disease in OECD countries as of 2020.
African countries have the lowest cholesterol, some as low as 4 mmol/L. Among western high-income countries, Greece has the lowest cholesterol for both men and women (below 5 mmol/L). USA, Canada, and Sweden also had low cholesterol. The UK's cholesterol is ninth highest in the world, slightly below 5.5 mmol/L.
Japanese life expectancy
This low mortality is mainly attributable to a low rate of obesity, low consumption of red meat, and high consumption of fish and plant foods such as soybeans and tea. In Japan, the obesity rate is low (4.8% for men and 3.7% for women).
Obesity, Unhealthy Diet, and Physical Inactivity
In the United States, nearly 74% of adults have overweight or obesity. A healthy diet can reduce a person's chances of getting heart disease.
Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women do, and men have attacks earlier in life. Even after women reach menopause, when women's death rate from heart disease increases, women's risk for heart attack is less than that for men. Children of parents with heart disease are more likely to develop heart disease.
You can prevent heart disease by following a heart-healthy lifestyle. Here are strategies to help you protect your heart. Heart disease is a leading cause of death, but it's not inevitable.
Mortality and morbidity from CVD are reduced in Italy, as compared to worldwide estimates (age-standardized mortality rate 113/100,000 vs. 233/100,000; age-standardized rate of DALYs lost 1764/100,000 vs. 4598/100,000).
However, higher pro-inflammatory status reflected by hsCRP and contribution of higher levels of hypertension, BMI and WHR (among women); smoking (among men); and diabetes are very likely to contribute to explaining the high coronary heart disease mortality in Russia.
Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1950 (1). Risk factors for heart disease include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, overweight and obesity, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol use (2).
The best diet for preventing heart disease is one that is full of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish, poultry, and vegetable oils; includes alcohol in moderation, if at all; and goes easy on red and processed meats, refined carbohydrates, foods and beverages with added sugar, sodium, and foods with trans ...
Heart Disease Deaths Vary by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, including African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, and white men.
Heart failure is most common in people over age 65, African-Americans, and women.
Your liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs. Cholesterol and other fats are carried in your bloodstream as spherical particles called lipoproteins.
Very surprisingly, age-adjusted CHD mortality in Japan started to decline in1970 as in Western countries, and has remained one of the lowest in developed countries: >67% lower in men and >75% lower in women compared with the USA, 8 accounting partly for the greatest longevity in the world among Japanese.
Note: Cholesterol is only found in animal products. Fruits, vegetables, grains and all other plant foods do not have any cholesterol at all.
"Most people would accept that women and people with diabetes are more likely to have silent or unrecognized (heart attacks)," Kontos said. The symptoms of a silent heart attack can include indigestion, feeling like you have a strained muscle in the chest or upper back, or prolonged, excessive fatigue.