Transitions From Heart Disease to Cancer as the Leading Cause of Death in US States, 1999-2016.

Introduction: Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1910 and cancer the second leading cause of death since 1933. However, cancer emerged recently as the leading cause of death in many US states. The objective of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of age-standardized annual state-specific mortality rates for heart disease and cancer.