Heart disease leads the nation as the foremost cause of death, but many people still ignore the risks. In their day-to-day life, many Americans have poor diets, sedentary lifestyles, and many even smoke. These factors put anyone at significantly greater risk of developing heart disease. These risks are prevalent and, unfortunately, common throughout the entire country, but some states have a much higher heart disease rate, such as:

1. Alabama
Alabama has a high percentage of people who smoke, compared to the country’s population as a whole. Since tobacco use is a major contributing factor that leads to heart disease, this, in turn, explains why about a quarter of their population dies from heart disease. Another factor with so many smokers may also be the common presence of second-hand smoke.

2. Arkansas
Arkansas is another leader for deaths by heart disease, although being the leader in that race can hardly be considered a win of any kind. The activity and exercise levels in Arkansas are sadly way below the national average. This, in conjunction with a high rate of smokers, contributes to Arkansas being one of the worst states for heart disease prevalence.

3. Louisiana
Louisiana has no single risk factor that is drastically higher than national averages. Still, all risk factor categories show them to be riskier, by a little bit, than the nation’s populace overall. They have a higher rate of teenage obesity, a lower percentage of adults who exercise, and a higher rate of active smokers.

4. Kentucky
Kentucky’s presence in this list looks to be due to obesity in childhood. The rate of exercise, smoking, and obesity in adults is on par with the rest of the nation, or very close to it. However, Kentucky’s rate of obesity in minors is almost double that of the national average. Being obese as a child or teen can set up children and teens to lead an unhealthy lifestyle from early on in life.

5. Mississippi
In Mississippi, almost 70 percent of their adult population is obese. Maybe there is a lot of old-fashioned southern cooking that has held on past the times of all-day activity that counteracted the calorie intake. With a downhill trend in activity levels, a diet created around an “up-at-dawn, work-till-sundown lifestyle,” the obesity rates are sure to continue climbing unless something changes.

6. Oklahoma
Heart disease leads as the foremost cause of death in Oklahoma by taking the lives of over 26% of its population. Like Louisiana, discussed above, one can attribute Oklahoma’s high heart disease rate to all risk factors being slightly elevated.

Luckily, there are treatment options available in all states mentioned and across the country in its entirety to both manage the symptoms of heart disease or prevent it in the first place. There are multiple modalities of pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment. In addition to quitting smoking, leading an active lifestyle, and adopting a heart-healthy diet, Repatha drugs for high cholesterol are a proven treatment option. Many people trust Repatha to lower bad cholesterol, and it can be a literal lifesaver for someone suffering from the ill effects of heart disease.