[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 51 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 51

       Supporting the goals and ideals of National Wear Red Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2007

 Ms. Millender-McDonald submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
       Supporting the goals and ideals of National Wear Red Day.

Whereas heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United 
        States;
Whereas it is estimated that 42.1 million American women have 1 or more types of 
        heart disease, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, 
        congestive heart failure, stroke, and congenital heart defects;
Whereas extensive clinical and statistical studies have identified major and 
        contributing factors that increase the risk of heart disease;
Whereas these studies have identified the following as major risk factors that 
        cannot be changed: age (the risk of developing heart disease gradually 
        increases as people age; advanced age significantly increases the risk); 
        gender (women's risk rises sharply after menopause; each year more women 
        than men have a stroke); and heredity (children of parents with heart 
        disease are more likely to develop it themselves; African Americans have 
        more severe high blood pressure than Caucasians and therefore are at 
        higher risk; the risk is also higher among Latina Americans, some Asian 
        Americans, and Native Americans and other indigenous populations);
Whereas these studies have identified the following as major risk factors that 
        American women can modify, treat or control by changing their lifestyle 
        or seeking appropriate medical treatment: high blood pressure, high 
        blood cholesterol, smoking tobacco products and exposure to tobacco 
        smoke, physical inactivity, obesity, and diabetes mellitus;
Whereas these studies have identified the following as contributing risk factors 
        that American women can also take action to modify, treat or control by 
        changing their lifestyle or seeking appropriate medical treatment: 
        individual response to stress, excessive consumption of alcoholic 
        beverages, use of certain illegal drugs, and hormone replacement 
        therapy;
Whereas more than 39 million American women have high blood pressure;
Whereas more than 19.7 million America women have cholesterol levels in excess 
        of 240 mg/dL, the level at which it becomes a major risk factor;
Whereas an estimated 21 million American women put themselves at risk for heart 
        disease every day by smoking cigarettes;
Whereas data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 
        that more than 60 percent of American adults do not get enough physical 
        activity, and more than 25 percent are not physically active at all;
Whereas 62 percent of Americans women are overweight or obese;
Whereas it is estimated that more than 10 million American women have diabetes 
        and that 65 percent of those so afflicted will die of some form of heart 
        disease;
Whereas the American Heart Association projects that in 2007 485,000 American 
        women will have a first or recurrent heart attack and that 45 percent of 
        these women will die as a result;
Whereas 35 percent of American women who suffer a heart attack in 2007 will 
        suffer a recurrent attack within 6 years;
Whereas 38 percent of American women who suffer their first heart attack in 2007 
        will die within 1 year;
Whereas in 2007 approximately 374,000 American women will suffer a new or 
        recurrent stroke and 92,000 of these women will die as a result;
Whereas advances in medical research have significantly improved the capacity of 
        American women to fight heart disease by providing greater knowledge 
        about its causes, innovative diagnostic tools to detect the disease, and 
        new and improved treatments that help people survive and recover from 
        this disease;
Whereas National Wear Red Day is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and 
        Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services, as an annual event held on the 
        first Friday in February to increase awareness among American women 
        about their risk of heart disease; and
Whereas National Wear Red Day 2007 will be observed on Friday, February 2, 2007: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That the Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Wear Red Day;
            (2) encourages Americans nationwide to take women's health 
        to heart by wearing red on National Wear Red Day 2007 to show 
        their support for women's heart disease awareness;
            (3) encourages Americans nationwide to support The Heart 
        Truth, the national awareness campaign designed by the National 
        Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to alert women about their 
        risk for heart disease;
            (4) encourages all American women, especially women ages 40 
        to 60, the time when a woman's risk of heart disease starts to 
        rise, to embrace the goals of The Heart Truth campaign and take 
        action to modify, prevent, and control their risk factors for 
        heart disease;
            (5) encourages all Americans, men and women alike, to take 
        to heart the 4 simple healthy life, healthy heart goals 
        identified by the HealthierUS Initiative of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services: exercise regularly and maintain a 
        healthy weight; develop good eating habits; avoid tobacco 
        products, drugs and excessive alcohol; and have regular medical 
        checkups to take advantage of screenings that can detect heart-
        disease related problems early;
            (6) recognizes and reaffirms our Nation's commitment to 
        fighting heart disease by promoting awareness about its causes, 
        risks, and prevention and by promoting new education programs, 
        supporting research, and expanding access to medical treatment; 
        and
            (7) recognizes all Americans battling heart disease, 
        expresses gratitude to their family members and friends who are 
        a source of love and encouragement as they combat this disease, 
        and salutes the health care professionals and medical 
        researchers who provide assistance to those so afflicted and 
        continue to work to find cures and improve treatments.
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