[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 16 (Thursday, February 26, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1126-S1127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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FIFTY YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE 
OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as we come to the end of what is 
recognized as National Heart Month, I would like to recognize and 
commend two outstanding organizations, which are celebrating their 
fiftieth anniversary this year. These organizations are the National 
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association (AHA).
  In 1948, President Truman signed the National Heart Act which 
established the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the NIH. 
The mission of the NHLBI is to ``provide for research and control 
relating to diseases of the heart and circulation in a supreme endeavor 
to develop quickly more effective prevention, diagnosis, and treatment 
of such diseases.'' In reviewing their record over the past fifty years 
I am proud of the advances and investments the Institute has made in 
the area of biomedical research. To help in the prevention and 
diagnosis of heart disease, the NHLBI began research studies such as 
the Framingham Heart Studies which advanced the understanding of the 
risk factors for heart disease that are universally known today, but 
was critically lacking in 1948. These factors are of course high blood 
pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, diabetes and the 
lack of exercise. These studies led to the development of effective 
medications to control high blood pressure that have helped reduce 
deaths from ``brain attack'', commonly known as stroke. The NHLBI has 
also performed a critical role in the development of techniques to 
restore blood flow to the heart, including the use of ``clot-busting'' 
drugs. These developments have cut the average length of 
hospitalization for a heart attack to under ten days.
  The NHLBI has also made significant progress in lung and blood 
research. The programs helped protect the health of our children 
through the work on prevention and treatment of neonatal respiratory 
distress syndrome and new techniques for treating asthma. Blood 
research at NHLBI led to the establishment of the Comprehensive Sickle 
Cell Center in 1972 to continue its work to cure sickle cell anemia. 
They have also laid the ground work for advances in the management of 
blood resources, including the storage and preservation of denoted 
blood, blood type matching, bone marrow transplantation, and enabling 
safe blood transfusions and more successful organ transplantations.
  As one who has devoted his life to medicine, and even more 
specifically to heart surgery and transplantation, I can tell you, 
without the NHLBI leading the way, many of the treatments for heart and 
pulmonary disease we take for granted today would not have been 
possible or would still be in development. To understand the impact of 
the last fifty years, let me relay a few statistics. In the fifty years 
since the establishment of the NHBLI, heart attacks have decreased by 
more than 50 percent and stroke by at least 66 percent.
  However, to say that we have cardiovascular disease under control is 
a mistake. It is the number one killer in America, claiming 960,592 
lives in 1995 or 1 out of every 2.4 deaths. In my own state of 
Tennessee for every 100,000 people living in the state, 220 died of 
cardiovascular diseases. The 1998 estimated annual cost of 
cardiovascular disease to the United States for health care expenses 
and lost productivity is $274 billion.
  The American Heart Association, which I have had a long history of 
working with, has also played a tremendous role in fighting heart 
disease by investing in research, education and community service 
programs. Founded in 1948 the AHA held the first national conference on 
cardiovascular disease in 1950. Throughout the past fifty years, the 
AHA has been funding important research projects. Some examples of 
early breakthroughs that are attributed to the AHA is the first open 
heart surgery in 1953, and the implantation of the first externally 
powered pacemaker in 1957. The AHA has continued supporting research 
and most recently funded the 1992 Nobel Prize winner Dr. Edwin Krebs 
whose research on how proteins are switched on to perform functions 
within cells has helped scientists understand organ transplantation 
rejection.
  In the areas of public education and community service, I would like 
to single out the American Heart Association efforts in starting the 
education of ``closed chest cardiac pulmonary resuscitation'', known as 
CPR in 1960 and their first public health campaign on the early warning 
signs of heart disease begun in 1970. Currently the AHA is focusing on 
women and heart disease, dispelling the myth that it is a man's 
disease. They point out that since 1984 the number of cardiovascular 
disease deaths for females has exceeded those of males and that in 1995 
over half a million women died of heart disease, which was 50,000 more 
than men. Coronary heart disease is the number one killer of American 
women and claims more lives than the leading 16 causes of death 
combined and almost twice as many as all forms of cancer.
  As they reach their fiftieth year, the NHLBI and AHA can look back 
with pride on the remarkable achievements in treating cardiovascular 
diseases. However, they will be the first ones to tell you that more 
can and needs to be done. In the next fifty years, the future of 
biomedical research into areas of heart disease is very promising. 
Molecular genetic approaches are emerging as a powerful tool of 
understanding the causes of disease and for developing diagnostic tests 
and effective drug therapies. In fact, genetic defects have already 
been discovered that have been shown to indicate an increased risk of 
high blood pressure. More extensive investigation of genetic 
susceptibility for heart disease may lead to new treatments and may 
even reveal ways to reverse the progression of these diseases.
  Gene therapy, in which patients with a defective gene receive copies 
of a healthy gene, is still in the experimental stage. However recent 
successes in gene-based therapy, such as gene-based stimulation of new 
blood vessels around a blocked artery, show how close we are to putting 
gene-based therapies into practice. There is also important NHLBI 
research occurring to look at new ways to reduce the risk of immune 
rejection and graft-verses-host disease in bone marrow and organ 
transplantation.
  Mr. President, today I recognize the past fifty years of achievement 
of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and American Heart 
Association on an issue that is of tremendous importance not just to me 
as a heart and lung transplant surgeon, but to all citizens. Through 
their efforts we are more

[[Page S1127]]

aware of the dangers and causes of heart disease. Through their efforts 
we are more prepared to fight cardiovascular disease and are armed with 
more effective treatments that continue to be developed. Based on the 
demonstrated history of dedication by these organizations and how far 
we have come in fighting cardiovascular disease, I look to the next 
fifty years with optimism and anticipation of what science will 
accomplish in building on the solid foundation begun in 1948.

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