Schwerin (dpa / mv) – According to the AOK, an above-average proportion of the population in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has heart disease. In the north-east, 10.3 percent of the population over the age of 30 suffer from coronary heart disease, as the general local health insurance fund north-east (AOK) announced on Monday. Nationwide it is only 8.3 percent. World Heart Day is celebrated on September 29th.
According to its own statements, the AOK extrapolated the billing data of its insured persons for its analysis. The procedure allows reliable statements to be made about the frequency of illnesses in the entire resident population of Germany down to the local level.
According to the information, people within Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are affected to varying degrees. The lowest proportion of patients with coronary heart disease is found in Rostock at 8.9 percent. However, this value is still slightly above the average for comparable large cities and above the national average. The Vorpommern-Greifswald district was hardest hit, with around 11.6 percent of people suffering from coronary heart disease in 2020.
The incidence of the disease increases significantly with age. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the average age of the population is above the national average. However, according to the AOK, the incidence of illness in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is well above the national value in all age groups.
According to the information, men are more likely to develop coronary heart disease than women. One reason is that men smoke more often than women. It can also be observed that materially and socially disadvantaged people are more frequently affected by coronary heart disease than people with a high social status.