These Are The 5 Leading Causes Of Death In Texas
We hear things about the leading causes of death in America, but one thing we have to remember is it isn't the same in each state. Texas for example does indeed share a leading cause of death with the country, but not necessarily the rest.
I know it's not the most comfortable thing to talk about, but it's something we all deal with. However, if we know what those leading causes are, maybe we can prevent it from happening sooner than we expect it to.
Here are the five leading causes of death according to death certificates in Texas:
1. DISEASES OF THE HEART
So this one is a very broad, yet targeted, cause of death. It accounted for 49,901 deaths in Texas, the most of any cause of death. There are so many different diseases the heart can get, and there are some that can be unavoidable or untreatable.
However, a lot of heart diseases can be either prevented or fixed if you're taking care of yourself and getting checked. Eating healthy and not smoking are the two main things you can do to help your heart stay healthy. Remember, it's the central part of your body and pumps that blood through you. Have to take care of it.
2. MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS
I know you're looking at that wondering what a malignant neoplasm is. In layman's terms, it's certain types of cancer. Carcinomas, lymphomas, leukemias, melanomas, and sarcomas would fall under the malignant neoplasm umbrella.
It accounted for 41,965 deaths in Texas, so a relatively distant number from heart disease, but still a very high number in general. Cancer is something that CAN be treated, but the battle isn't always won sadly. Catching it early is key, so if something doesn't feel right with your body, listen to it and go get checked.
3. COVID-19
We now have the medication that can help with COVID-19, but it's still a leading cause of death. Some of the symptoms associated with it can be irreversible sadly as it attacks our oxygen levels. COVID causes so many different issues that while COVID is listed as the cause of death, it's usually something else that happened because of it.
It took the lives of 31,281 in Texas.
4. ACCIDENTS
There couldn't be a more broad category for death listed than this one. Accidents happen all the time, and it's essentially the only one that is unavoidable most times. Accidents can be anything from a car accident to a slip and fall at home.
Accidents accounted for 12,724 deaths in Texas. Some accidents can be avoided such as electrical accidents when you don't know what you're dealing with, but many times they are freak of nature types of things.
5. ALZHEIMER'S
Many times we see Alzheimer's associated as one of the risks of smoking cigarettes, and while it is certainly one cause for it, sometimes it just happens with people. It more commonly is associated by things such as age-related brain changes, environmental factors, genetics, and lifestyle factors.
Alzheimer's took 11,849 lives in Texas making it the 5th leading cause of death in the state. You can help stave off Alzheimer's by changing your lifestyle a bit, but it's not something you can completely control.