[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.

                          ____________________