Also note that strokes are highly correlated with those two most likely due to it being a consequence of cardiovascular (read: heart) disease. The concentration of heart disease/stroke mortality in that region seems to be highly correlated with obesity distribution, which isn't a surprise. Actually, the state with the highest rate of obesity [1], Mississipi, is also the one with the highest mortality due to heart disease, and 3rd highest for strokes.

As for cancer mortality, the distribution closely matches that of smoking prevalence by state, more so than the distribution for heart disease, again not a surprise [2].

What I find the most interesting, though, are the lone states that don't seem to be a part of any cluster and have a high prevalence of, like high respiratory mortality (and influenza/pneumonia) in Wyoming, or Alzheimer's in Washington and North Dakota, or high drug mortality in Arizona (and not in any of the other border states).

[1] http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

[2] http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/AdultSmoking/

I have no expertise here, but I wonder if the Alzheimer's rate in Washington and North Dakota reflect differences is how deaths are classified.

They're also statistically small numbers, so percentages are larger comparatively. But it definitely is one of the standout questions from this.

The cancer bumps in West VA and Kentucky (and to some extent the rest of Appalachia) may have something to do with the mining industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountaintop_removal_mining

"According to 21 scientific studies there has been major effects on the population in the Appalachia where MTM takes place including over 50% higher cancer rates, 42% higher birth defect rates, and $75 billion a year in public health costs from pollution."

New research suggests that low vitamin D levels may be factors in both CVD and cancer, which could explain part of the correlation.

The high rates in the states around Mississippi are because of the high fraction of African Americans, who experience higher (double) rates of CVD compared to whites, a fact not inconsistent with the vitamin D hypothesis.

How would those look overlaid with poverty/education? Are poor eating habits and smoking significant factors in heart disease and cancer overall?

I didn't run the numbers but the correlation between poverty/education and cancer+heart disease seems relatively high. The mortality rates for those appear to be highest in the deep South, Appalachia and lower Midwest, which are some of the poorest and least-educated areas of the country.

PG, what did you think of that "Can Google Solve Death?" Time magazine cover story from a month ago?:

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2152422...

or Google's project Calico in general?:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/03/tech/innovation/google-calico-...

Oxidative stress and the resulting inflammation has been (loosely) linked to both cancer and heart disease.

My totally unscientific pet theory is that if you somehow managed to survive long enough, eventually you will succumb to cancer or heart disease. So places with high cancer/heart disease rates might simply be places with the best healthcare system!

That's a good observation but right at the top of the chart it says, "DATA AGE-ADJUSTED AND PER 100,000 PERSONS (2010)". If it's adjusted for age, then I think your theory wouldn't apply.

Average lifespan data can help answer that question. My guess is both conditions are preventable if caught early, so a good healthcare system would do a better job at reducing cancer and heart disease deaths than most.

I would love to do some overlays to put it in the context of other data. Something more granular would of course be nice too.

Hopefully I'll find more data sets that I can plug in.

cancer and blood flow are very closely related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angiogenesis

They definitely are. Cancerous masses tend to ramp up blood vessel production because that's how they survive. In fact, there are tests, like angiography, that are done to identify areas of increased blood flow, which may indicate cancerous areas.

However, there hasn't really been a link shown between cancer and heart disease, like hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, etc, -- i.e. the two diseases haven't been shown to correlate pathophysiologically. But there is data showing a correlation between chemotherapy and heart disease, which could certainly contribute to the similarity in distributions in mortality between heart disease and cancer. For instance, doxorubicin is a chemotherapeutic agent infamously known for causing dilated cardiomyopathy.