Florida No. 1 in Heart Disease Hospitalizations

By Bob LaMendola, Sun Sentinel

Florida leads the nation in the number of seniors hospitalized with heart disease, a federal report found Monday, reflecting the state's large elderly population and higher-than-average heart risks.

More than 1.1 million Floridians were admitted with heart ailments between 2000 and 2006, far above second-ranked Texas with 980,000 and most populated California with 877,000, said the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The most worrisome aspect of the report for Florida was extent of heart disease among the state's 3.4 million seniors, said Michele Casper, a CDC epidemiologist who headed the report.

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