QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Death Rates for Heart Disease and Cancer by Sex — United States, 1980–2011

During 1980–2011, age-adjusted death rates for heart disease in males and females decreased steadily. The rate decreased 59.5% for males and 56.8% for females. In contrast, the rate from cancer first increased 3.4% for males and 5.3% for females during 1980–1990 and then decreased 27.2% for males and 18.0% for females by 2011. For females, the rates for cancer (147.4 per 100,000 population) surpassed the rates for heart disease (146.6) in 2009. The death rate for heart disease in males remained slightly higher (218.1) than the death rate for cancer (204.0) in 2011.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6337a6.htm