[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 52 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 52

        Supporting the goals and ideals of American Heart Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    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 American Heart Month.

Whereas heart disease affects adult men and women of every age and race in the 
        United States;
Whereas heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United 
        States;
Whereas an estimated 79 million adult Americans, nearly one in every 3, 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 (men have greater risk of developing heart disease than women); 
        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 
        Americans 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 Americans 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 72 million adult Americans have high blood pressure;
Whereas more than 36.6 million Americans have cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dL or 
        higher, the level at which it becomes a major risk factor;
Whereas an estimated 46 million Americans 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 66 percent of adult Americans are overweight or obese;
Whereas 20 million adult Americans have diabetes and 65 percent of those so 
        afflicted will die of some form of heart disease;
Whereas the American Heart Association projects that in 2007 1.2 million 
        Americans will have a first or recurrent heart attack and 452,000 of 
        these people will die as a result;
Whereas in 2007 approximately 700,000 Americans will suffer a new or recurrent 
        stroke and 150,000 of these people will die as a result;
Whereas advances in medical research have significantly improved our capacity 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 the Congress by Joint Resolution approved on December 30, 1963, (77 
        Stat. 843; 36 U.S.C. 101) has requested that the President issue an 
        annual proclamation designating February as ``American Heart Month''; 
        and
Whereas every year since 1964 the President has issued a proclamation 
        designating the month February as ``American Heart Month'': Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That the Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of American Heart Month;
            (2) invites the chief executive officers of the States, 
        territories, and possessions of the United States to issue 
        proclamations designating American Heart Month and recognizing 
        the goals and ideals of American Heart Month;
            (3) commends the efforts of States, territories and 
        possessions of the United States, localities, non-profit 
        organizations, businesses, and other entities, and the people 
        of the United States who support the goals and ideals of 
        American Heart Month;
            (4) 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;
            (5) recognizes all Americans battling heart disease, 
        expresses gratitude to their family members and friends who are 
        a source of love and encouragement to them 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; and
            (6) encourages each and every American to take to heart the 
        four simple healthy life, healthy heart goals identified by the 
        HealthierUS Initiative of the U.S. 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.
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