Internationale Zeitschrift für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung

Non- Hispanic white students were more likely than Hispanic or non-Hispanic black students to report any current tobacco use

Anderson

within the scientific understanding of cardiovascular conditions in children and youth, and this progress has led to improved prevention and treatment of congenital and acquired heart disease. Following this period of advancement, the current status of our understanding should be reviewed to create a foundation for future scientific efforts. Cardiovascular disease occur more often in children than is usually appreciated by health care professionals or the overall public. More than 600,000 children in the US have an abnormality of the cardiovascular system; approximately 440,000 have a cardiac malformation, an estimated 160 000 have a disturbance of heart rhythm or conduction, and 40,000 have an acquired disease like cardiomyopathy, rheumatic heart condition or Kawasaki disease. Furthermore, if the current rate of development of atherosclerosis continues, nearly half of the approximately 80 million American children under age 21 will ultimately die of complications of atherosclerosis such as coronary artery disease and stroke. With this overall perspective, each of the main conditions is discussed below. 18.1% of scholars reported current cigarette use, 13.1% of scholars reported current cigar use, and 7.7% of scholars reported current smokeless tobacco use. Overall, 23.4% of students reported any current tobacco use. Male students were more likely than female students to report current cigarette use (19.9% compared with 16.1%).