[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1438 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1438

  Promoting increased awareness and diagnosis of peripheral arterial 
  disease (PAD) to address the high mortality rate of this treatable 
                                disease.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 14, 2010

 Mr. Paulsen submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Promoting increased awareness and diagnosis of peripheral arterial 
  disease (PAD) to address the high mortality rate of this treatable 
                                disease.

Whereas atherosclerosis occurs when blood flow is reduced because arteries 
        become narrowed or blocked with fatty deposits;
Whereas atherosclerosis is responsible for more deaths in the United States than 
        any other condition and heart attacks, resulting from clogged chest 
        arteries, are the leading cause of death in America;
Whereas atherosclerosis also affects arteries of the brain and leads to strokes, 
        which are the third most common cause of death in the United States, 
        killing nearly 150,000 people annually;
Whereas atherosclerosis also occurs in the legs and is known as peripheral 
        arterial disease (in this resolution referred to as ``PAD'') and having 
        PAD significantly increases the risk for heart attack, stroke, 
        amputation, and death;
Whereas most Americans are aware of atherosclerosis in the brain and heart, 3 
        out of 4 Americans have never heard of PAD and Americans with PAD are 
        often unaware of the serious risks of the condition;
Whereas despite low levels of awareness, PAD is common and deadly with eight to 
        twelve million Americans having PAD and these individuals suffer a 5-
        year mortality rate that is higher than that faced by individuals with 
        stroke, heart disease, or breast cancer;
Whereas the incidence of PAD is likely to increase in the United States with the 
        rise of both obesity and diabetes;
Whereas of those Americans with severe PAD, also known as critical limb 
        ischemia, 35 percent may suffer an amputation and 20 percent may die 
        within 6 months;
Whereas PAD is the primary cause of amputations in the United States, with more 
        than 100,000 amputations occurring annually, at a cost of more than $3 
        billion;
Whereas PAD disproportionately affects certain populations including Americans 
        aged 65 and older, African-Americans, and adults with diabetes;
Whereas PAD is a major risk factor for amputations in people with diabetes, 
        contributing to about 71,000 lower-limb amputations annually;
Whereas less than 35 percent of patients with PAD experience typical symptoms 
        and, therefore, many with the disease remain undiagnosed;
Whereas screening for PAD is effective, inexpensive, risk-free, and accurate and 
        can be part of routine medical care;
Whereas Medicare and many private health plans do not cover a one-time screening 
        to detect PAD;
Whereas once PAD is detected, heart attacks, strokes, amputations, and deaths 
        can be reduced through the use of national, evidence-based PAD care 
        guidelines; and
Whereas there is a need for national efforts to ensure that patients at highest 
        risk for undiagnosed PAD have access to diagnostic tests and patients 
        diagnosed with the disease are being treated according to evidence-based 
        guidelines to improve patient outcomes: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. NEED FOR ACTION.

    The House of Representatives--
            (1) identifies the need for government agencies, health 
        care organizations, professional societies, health systems, and 
        clinicians to take actions to improve the diagnosis and 
        treatment of peripheral arterial disease; and
            (2) resolves to promote efforts to increase public and 
        clinician awareness of PAD.

SEC. 2. ENCOURAGEMENT FOR SPECIFIC ACTIONS.

    The House of Representatives encourages the following actions:
            (1) The Administrator of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid 
        Services should examine ways to increase the number of 
        beneficiaries that are aware of PAD and screened for the 
        disease.
            (2) The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, acting through the National Heart Disease and 
        Stroke Prevention Program, should examine ways to educate 
        medical professionals about the benefits of PAD screening and 
        assess and reduce regional disparities in the diagnosis and 
        treatment of PAD.
            (3) The Director of the National Institutes of Health 
        should continue the Institutes' critically important leadership 
        role in the fight against PAD--
                    (A) by continuing and increasing the support of its 
                respective Institutes, including the National Heart, 
                Lung, and Blood Institute for basic and clinical PAD 
                research, for PAD comparative effectiveness studies, 
                and for assessing and improving public awareness of 
                PAD;
                    (B) by encouraging the National Heart, Lung, and 
                Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the 
                National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney 
                Diseases, the National Institute of Nursing Research, 
                and the National Center on Minority Health and Health 
                Disparities to provide the necessary funding for 
                intramural and extramural biomedical research and 
                education with respect to PAD through the co-
                sponsorship of workshops and seminars with respected 
                patient organizations;
                    (C) by exploring collaborative opportunities for 
                PAD research with national health professional 
                societies and vascular care foundations using the 
                multidisciplinary approach of the National Institutes 
                of Health; and
                    (D) by exploring collaborative opportunities with 
                the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for 
                Medicare and Medicaid Services to expand access to 
                proven diagnostic methods and therapeutic interventions 
                via sponsorship of annual PAD strategic planning 
                meetings.
            (4) The Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality should 
        include PAD in its strategic vision to improve health outcomes, 
        to strengthen quality measurement and improvement, and to 
        improve health care access for individuals with PAD, through 
        offering support to research centers that specialize in PAD 
        health care research in the following areas:
                    (A) Quality improvement and patient safety.
                    (B) Outcomes and effectiveness of care.
                    (C) Clinical practice and technology assessment.
                    (D) Health care organization and delivery systems.
                    (E) Primary care (including preventive services).
                    (F) Health care costs and sources of payment.
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