STATUS > HEALTH INDICATORS LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH In 2002,
there were over 1.2 million deaths among females. Of these
deaths, more than half were attributed to diseases of the heart
and malignant neoplasms (cancer). Heart disease represented
356,014 deaths (28.6 percent), while 268,503 (21.6 percent) were
from cancer. The next two leading causes of death were
cerebrovascular diseases (stroke), which accounted for 8.0
percent of all female deaths. This was followed by chronic lower
respiratory diseases which accounted for 5.2 percent. Crude
death rates varied for women by race and ethnic group. For non-
Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women, the
leading cause of death was heart disease, with 292.3, 211.6, and
69.7 deaths per 100,000 females, respectively. In contrast,
among American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander
women, the leading cause of death was malignant neoplasms,
accounting for 71.0 and 72.6 deaths per 100,000 females,
respectively.