[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 13 (Monday, February 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S858-S859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEBRUARY IS AMERICAN HEART MONTH
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I stand in observance of American
Heart Month. This is an annual event since 1964 resulting from passage
of a joint Congressional resolution asking the President to proclaim
each February as American Heart Month. In declaring February as
American Heart Month for the last 34 years, both the Congress and the
President recognize the seriousness of heart disease and the need to
continue the battle against this our country's number 1 killer and a
leading cause of disability.
American Heart Month takes on an added significance in 1998 because
both the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute and the American Heart Association are celebrating
their 50th anniversaries--50 proud years for both national
organizations.
The NHLBI is the federal government's leading supporter of heart
research and educational programs. The American Heart Association is
the nation's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to the
reduction of death and disability from heart attack, stroke and other
cardiovascular diseases--the leading cause of death in the United
States.
There have been wonderful discoveries made through research and
wonderful treatments that are provided in our hospitals in the area of
cardiology. Yet there is so much we still do not know. It seems to me
more and more research can unlock these mysteries and give us the
opportunity to save more and more lives in this country.
Virtually all of us have a friend or a loved one who has been
affected by heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular diseases. As
many of my colleagues know, I have a very personal interest in trying
to provide additional resources for NHLBI to be used to provide funding
vitally needed for heart and stroke-related research.
I have become increasingly concerned, however, with what has been
happening to the amount of money spent on heart research by the federal
government. Even with the significant increases that Congress has been
giving to the NIH over the past decade, funding for heart research has
simply not kept pace. In fact, funding for heart research at the NHLBI
appears to be losing more and more ground.
In constant dollars from FY 1985 to FY 1995, funding for the NHLBI
heart program decreased 4.8 percent.
In constant dollars from FY 1986 to FY 1996 funding for the NHLBI
heart program declined 5.5 percent.
And, in figures just released by the NHLBI, funding for the heart
program decreased by 7.6 percent in constant dollars from FY 1987 to FY
1997.
We can do better, and we must do better. Our nation must do a better
job than this in the battle against America's No. 1 killer.
During the commemoration of this 50th anniversary of the 1948 Heart
Act, which created the National Heart Institute, I call on the on the
President and every one of my colleagues to take three pivotal steps to
make more progress against this insidious disease:
Commit to providing a significant increase in funding for research
against heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases;
Establish a Presidential Commission on Heart Disease and Stroke,
similar to the one convened by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Today,
34 years after the first Presidential Commission, these diseases remain
the first and third largest killers in America; and
Convene a National Conference on Cardiovascular Diseases sponsored by
the NHLBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first
one was sponsored by the National Heart Institute and the American
Heart Association in 1950 to ``summarize current knowledge and to make
recommendations concerning further progress against heart and blood
vessel diseases.'' I think it is time we take another systematic look
at the status of our heart disease research efforts to date and the
areas that need further research.
These steps are vital to the health and well being of the more than
57 million Americans with one or more types of cardiovascular disease.
I ask that this year's Presidential proclamation on American Heart
Month be printed in the Record.
American Heart Month, 1998
a proclamation by the president of the united states of america
Fifty years ago, a heart attack meant an end to an active
lifestyle, and, for a third of those stricken, it meant
death. Thankfully, the past half-century has brought us an
array of advances in the prevention and treatment of heart
disease. Procedures such as balloon angioplasty and coronary
artery bypass grafts, noninvasive diagnostic tests, and drugs
that treat high blood pressure and clots and reduce high
blood cholesterol have enabled Americans to live longer and
healthier lives. Equally important, we have become better
educated during the past five decades about heart disease
risk factors and how to control them.
This year, two of the groups most responsible for this
remarkable progress--the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute and the American Heart Association--are celebrating
their golden anniversaries. The National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health,
leads the Federal Government's efforts against heart disease
by supporting research and education for the public, heart
patients, and health care professionals. The American Heart
Association plays a crucial role in the fight against heart
disease through its research and education programs and its
vital network of dedicated volunteers.
Despite the encouraging developments in that fight, we
still face many challenges. Heart disease continues to be the
leading cause of death in this country, killing more than
700,000 Americans each year. The number of Americans with
heart disease or a risk factor for it is staggering.
Approximately 58 million have some form of cardiovascular
disease, about 50 million have high blood pressure, and about
52 million have high
[[Page S859]]
blood cholesterol. Americans are also becoming more
overweight and less active--two key factors that increase the
risk of heart disease. Most disturbing, for the first time in
decades, Americans are losing ground against some
cardiovascular diseases. The rate of stroke has risen
slightly, the prevalence of heart failure has increased, and
the decline in the death rate for those with coronary heart
disease has slowed.
Women are particularly hard hit by this disease, in part
because public health messages too often have not focused on
how this segment of our population can best protect their
hearts. The American Heart Association recently discovered
that only 8 percent of American women know that heart disease
and stroke are the greatest health threats for women, and 90
percent of women polled did not know the most common heart
attack signals for women.
For a variety of reasons, including poorer access to
preventive health care services, minorities in America have
high mortality rates due to heart disease. The American Heart
Association reported that, in 1995, cardiovascular disease
death rates were about 49 percent greater for African
American men than for white men, and about 67 percent higher
for African American women than white women. In addition, the
prevalence of diabetes--a major risk factor for heart
disease--is very high in some of our Native American
populations, and Asian Americans have a high mortality rate
for stroke.
However, both the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
and the American Heart Association have undertaken activities
to counter these trends. Both groups have initiated major
efforts to better inform women and minorities about the
threat of heart disease and the steps that can be taken both
to prevent and treat it. These fine organizations also
continue their efforts to educate health professionals on
improving medical practice in heart health and to inform
patients and the public about how to reduce their risk of
heart disease. As we celebrate their 50th anniversaries, let
us resolve to build on their record of accomplishment. By
continuing our investment in research, raising public
awareness of the symptoms of heart disease, and educating
Americans about the importance of a heart-healthy diet and
exercise, we can continue our extraordinary progress in
saving lives and improving health.
In recognition of these important efforts in the ongoing
fight against cardiovascular disease, the Congress, by Joint
Resolution approved December 30, 1963 (77 Stat. 843; 36
U.S.C. 169b), has requested that the President issue an
annual proclamation designating February as ``American Heart
Month.''
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim February 1998 as
American Heart Month. I invite the Governors of the States,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of other areas
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the
American people to join me in reaffirming our commitment to
combating cardiovascular disease and stroke.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and twenty-second.
William J. Clinton.
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