[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2130 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2130
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for expanding,
intensifying, and coordinating activities of the National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute with respect to heart attack, stroke, and other
cardiovascular diseases in women.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 9, 1997
Ms. Waters (for herself, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Boucher, Ms. Brown of
Florida, Ms. Christian-Green, Ms. Carson, Mrs. Clayton, Mr. Clyburn,
Mr. Conyers, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. DeGette, Mr.
Dellums, Mr. Engel, Mr. Evans, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Fazio of
California, Mr. Filner, Mr. Frost, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Hastings of
Florida, Mr. Hilliard, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Eddie Bernice
Johnson of Texas, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Lofgren, Mrs.
Lowey, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. McDermott, Ms. McKinney, Mrs. Mink
of Hawaii, Mrs. Morella, Ms. Norton, Mr. Payne, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Rivers,
Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Rush, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Stokes,
Mr. Thompson, Mr. Towns, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Watt of North Carolina, Mr.
Clay, Mr. Clement, Mr. Dixon, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Flake, Mr.
Ford, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mrs. Kennelly of Connecticut, Mrs. Meek of
Florida, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Owens, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Romero-
Barcelo, Mr. Scott, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Weygand, Ms.
Woolsey, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. Capps, Mr.
Delahunt, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Green, Mrs. Roukema, Mr. Jefferson, and Mr.
Matsui) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for expanding,
intensifying, and coordinating activities of the National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute with respect to heart attack, stroke, and other
cardiovascular diseases in women.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Women's Cardiovascular Diseases
Research and Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows with respect to women in the United
States:
(1) Heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases
are the leading causes of death in women.
(2) Heart attacks and strokes are leading causes of
disability in women.
(3) Cardiovascular diseases claim the lives of more women
each year than does cancer. Each year more than 500,000 females
die of cardiovascular diseases, while approximately 254,000
females die of cancer. Heart attack kills more than 5\1/2\
times as many females as breast cancer. Stroke kills twice as
many females as breast cancer.
(4) More than 1 in 5 females has some form of
cardiovascular disease. Of females under age 65, each year
approximately 20,000 die of heart attacks. In the case of
African-American women, from ages 35 to 74 the death rate from
heart attacks is 38 percent higher than that of white women.
(5) Each year since 1984, cardiovascular diseases have
claimed the lives of more females than males. In 1993, of the
number of individuals who died of such diseases, 52 percent
were females and 48 percent were males.
(6) The clinical course of cardiovascular diseases is
different in women than in men, and current diagnostic
capabilities are less accurate in women than in men. Once a
woman develops a cardiovascular disease, she is more likely
than a man to have continuing health problems, and she is more
likely to die.
(7) Of women who have had a heart attack, approximately 44
percent die within 1 year of the attack. Of men who have had
such an attack, 27 percent die within 1 year. At older ages,
women who have had a heart attack are twice as likely as men to
die from the attack within a few weeks. Women are more likely
than men to have a stroke during the first 6 years following a
heart attack. More than 60 percent of women who suffer a stroke
die within 12 years. Long-term survivorship of stroke is better
in women than in men. Of individuals who die from a stroke,
each year approximately 61 percent are females. In 1993, 91,060
females died from strokes. Women have unrecognized heart
attacks more frequently than men. Of women who died suddenly
from heart attack, 63 percent had no previous evidence of
disease.
(8) More than half of the annual health care costs that are
related to cardiovascular diseases are attributable to the
occurrence of the diseases in women, each year costing this
nation hundreds of billions of dollars in health care costs and
lost productivity.
(9) A number of recent studies have found that hormone
replacement therapy contributes to the reduction of risk
factors for cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women and
may reduce the risk of cardiovascular mortality in such women
by as much as 50 percent.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION AND INTENSIFICATION OF ACTIVITIES REGARDING HEART
ATTACK, STROKE AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES IN
WOMEN.
Subpart 2 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 285b et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 424 the
following section:
``heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in women
``Sec. 424A. (a) In General.--The Director of the Institute shall
expand, intensify, and coordinate research and related activities of
the Institute with respect to heart attack, stroke, and other
cardiovascular diseases in women.
``(b) Coordination With Other Institutes.--The Director of the
Institute shall coordinate activities under subsection (a) with similar
activities conducted by the other national research institutes and
agencies of the National Institutes of Health to the extent that such
Institutes and agencies have responsibilities that are related to heart
attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in women.
``(c) Certain Programs.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Director of the Institute shall conduct or support research to expand
the understanding of the causes of, and to develop methods for
preventing, cardiovascular diseases in women. Activities under such
subsection shall include conducting and supporting the following:
``(1) Research to determine the reasons underlying the
prevalence of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular
diseases in women, including African-American women and other
women who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups.
``(2) Basic research concerning the etiology and causes of
cardiovascular diseases in women.
``(3) Epidemiological studies to address the frequency and
natural history of such diseases and the differences among men
and women, and among racial and ethnic groups, with respect to
such diseases.
``(4) The development of safe, efficient, and cost-
effective diagnostic approaches to evaluating women with
suspected ischemic heart disease.
``(5) Clinical research for the development and evaluation
of new treatments for women, including rehabilitation.
``(6) Studies to gain a better understanding of methods of
preventing cardiovascular diseases in women, including
applications of effective methods for the control of blood
pressure, lipids, and obesity.
``(7) Information and education programs for patients and
health care providers on risk factors associated with heart
attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in women, and
on the importance of the prevention or control of such risk
factors and timely referral with appropriate diagnosis and
treatment. Such programs shall include information and
education on health-related behaviors that can improve such
important risk factors as smoking, obesity, high blood
cholesterol, and lack of exercise.
``(d) Activities Regarding Hormone Replacement Therapy.--Activities
carried out under subsection (c) shall include information and
education programs for patients and health care providers on the
benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy and the role of such
therapy in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in women.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $140,000,000
for fiscal year 1998, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the
fiscal years 1999 and 2000. The authorization of appropriations
established in the preceding sentence is in addition to any other
authorization of appropriation that is available for such purpose.''.
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