110 HCON 52 : Supporting the goals and ideals of American U.S. House of Representatives 0 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

III 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 52 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 1, 2007 Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 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

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.

Passed the House of Representatives February 28, 2007. Lorraine C. Miller, Clerk.