Heart Disease and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders

  • In 2014, Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders were 10 percent more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease than non-Hispanic whites.
  • Heart-related health issues vary among various Asian and Pacific Islander sub-populations.
  • Recent national data related to heart disease for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders is limited. Local data from states with high populations of Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders may be useful in illustrating disparities among certain populations.

Diagnosed Cases of Coronary Heart Disease:

Age-adjusted percentage of coronary heart disease among persons 18 years of age and over, 2014
**Native Hawaiian/Pacific IslanderNon-Hispanic WhiteNative Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
6.05.71.1

Source: CDC, 2017. Selected Health Conditions Among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Adults: United States, 2014. Figure 2
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db277.pdf [PDF | 333KB]
Source: CDC 2017. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2014. Table A-1.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm [PDF | 333KB]

Death Rate:

Age-adjusted heart disease death rates per 100,000 (2018)
Native Hawaiian/Pacific IslanderNon-Hispanic WhiteNative Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men196.2213.10.9
Women128.0130.71.0
Total161.4168.11.0

Source: CDC 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 69, No. 13. Table 10.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr69/nvsr69-13-508.pdf [PDF | 2.05MB]

United States Territories:

Age-adjusted heart disease death rates per 100,000 (2018)
TerritoryNon-Hispanic White (U.S. National)Territories / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Guam293.9168.11.7
American Samoa--168.1--
Northern Marianas201.0168.11.2

Source: CDC 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 69, No. 13. Table 10.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr69/nvsr69-13-508.pdf [PDF | 2.05MB]

Risk Factors:

There are several risk factors related to heart disease. Some of these risk factors are:

Obesity and Overweight

- See Obesity and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders.

Hypertension

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who have high blood pressure, 2018
Native Hawaiian/Pacific IslanderNon-Hispanic WhiteNative Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
24.024.01.0

Source: CDC 2021. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-1a.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm [PDF | 1.76MB]

Cigarette Smoking

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who are current cigarette smokers, 2014
**Native Hawaiian/Pacific IslanderNon-Hispanic WhiteNative Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
10.8*19.10.6

Source: CDC, 2020. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-12a.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm
*Estimates are considered unreliable. Data shown have a relative standard error of greater that 30 percent.
** NOTE: This is the most recent national data available at this time.


Last Edited: 02/11/2021