New Study: Rhode Islanders More Likely to Suffer Heart Attacks

If you’re a physically and mentally unfit Rhode Islander, you’re not alone. A new study released by Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, found that residents of the Ocean State suffer from a variety of health ailments, including high rates of heart attacks and depression.

Serious as a heart attack
The study, which specifically looked at self-reported incidence of heart attacks per state, found that 6 percent of Rhode Islanders reported having a heart attack in 2014. This high percentage placed Rhode Island 45th out of 50 states.
And what’s more, the Ocean State ranked high in incidences of high cholesterol and depression. In fact, it had the second highest rate of high cholesterol and third-highest occurrence of depression.
The one bright spot for Rhode Islanders was their low rate of diabetes. Rhode Island also ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of high blood pressure and obesity nationwide.
That said, Rhode Island did edge of Vermont, which was the only New England state to rank worse in the study.
Comparatively, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were all among the top 20 states with the lowest percentage of heart attacks.
Fat and Unhappy
Earlier this year, a Gallup-Healthways study found that Rhode Island was the unhappiest state in New England based on its financial, physical, social well-being.
Furthermore in May, another study by Gallup-Healthways concluded that Rhode Island was the fattest state in New England.
An encouraging trend
Although Rhode Island didn’t fare well in Gallup’s newly released statistics, the nation as a whole is showing signs of improvement. Compared to 2008, when Gallup first began collecting this type of data, the percentage of U.S. adults reporting heart attacks has dropped from 4.5 percent to 3.9 percent.