National trends in rates of death and hospital admissions related to acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and stroke, 1994-2004.

Background: Rates of death from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have been steadily declining over the past few decades. Whether such declines are occurring to a similar degree for common disorders such as acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and stroke is uncertain. We examined recent national trends in mortality and rates of hospital admission for these 3 conditions.