‘Health Spotlight Town Hall Special’ examines Indiana’s No. 1 cause of death: heart disease

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For the past two years, News 8 has been proud to team up with partners at Community Health Network to dedicate time to talk about the biggest health issues facing Indiana.

On Thursday night, the “WISH-TV Health Spotlight Special” talked about the No. 1 cause of death in the state, which can be a silent killer, heart disease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says heart disease was the No. 1 cause of death in 42 of the 50 states including Indiana in 2021. Only 13 states had a higher death rate from heart disease than Indiana.

In 2021, on average in Indiana, more than 40 people died every single day from heart disease.

In Indiana, the highest rates were in Vigo, Starke and Fayette counties. The lowest rates were in Hamilton, Carroll and Cass counties.

Watch the video as doctors Rakshita Chandrashekar, a board-certified cardiologist for Community Health Network, and Sandeep Dube, the medical director for the catheterization labs at Community Heart and Vascular, talk about heart disease and offer lifesaving advice.