TOP CAUSES OF DEATH IN OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma has seen a significant rise in the number of heart disease related deaths in the past 10 years, according to statistics complied by the Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention.

The figures show that the mortality rate for heart disease varies significantly across the United States, with the highest rates in the southeastern states. Oklahoma's 1999 age-adjusted death rate was 317.4 deaths per 100,000 people, which was significantly higher than the overall U.S. rate of 268. This means that Oklahoma was ranked seventh among the states in heart disease deaths in 1999.

Other top causes of death in Oklahoma were (2) cancer (in the form of malignant tumors), (3) stoke, (4) respiratory diseases, and (5) accidental deaths. The top ten causes of death in Oklahoma also includes (6) influenza and pneumonia, (7) diabetes, (8) Azheimer's Disease, (9) suicide, and (10) atherosclerious.

Oklahoma spent $357.8 billion, or 31.5 percent of the state budget, on health care in 2003, accoring to the State Health Expenditure Report for 2000-2003.

--Brian Fagan