I'm sure you've figured out by now that you're probably not going to die by frostbite or a shark attack here in Texas. If you do, you're certainly an anomaly. Instead, you're far more likely to die from the causes listed here.

504056461
Getty Images/iStockphoto
loading...

These top causes of death are from a Stateline analysis of information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These are all based on stats from 2014. Let's get right to it.

Texas (and the south) has an abundance of overweight citizens, so it should be no surprise that heart disease takes the gold medal as the no. one killer. It's cancer very close for the silver, and in a distant, distant third it's stroke. Rounding out the top five are chronic lower respiratory disease and accidents. In fact the final three are almost all dead even.

The thing I find interesting about this survey is the thing that is disproportionately killing more Texans than in other states. This means, for some reason, this thing kills more people on average than it should. Any guesses out there?

For some reason, Texans die of infection, specifically septicemia, at a higher rate than in other states. We also share this distinctive cause of death with Virginia and New Jersey.

The blood disease septicemia is Texas' most distinctive cause of death compared to other states. Septicemia is something that occurs when a bacterial infection enters the bloodstream and can lead to sepsis. Symptoms of septicemia include:

  • chills
  • elevated body temperature (fever)
  • very fast respiration
  • rapid heart rate

In a quick look at the distinctive causes of death in other states, pity the poor folks in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Alaska. They score higher than average in suicide by firearm. In Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Illinois, it's homicide by firearm.

So to conclude: Texans -- be sure to bandage those boo-boos and get your antibiotics. And while you're at it, lose a few pounds.

  • MORE

    Lubbock Mystery Van Explained

More From 1025 KISS FM