[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8096]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          WOMEN'S HEART HEALTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 27, 2005

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to a 
critically-important public health issue, cardiovascular disease among 
women.
  I recently attended a women's heart health symposium in my district 
and was surprised to learn that heart disease is the number one cause 
of death for American women. Heart disease kills more than 366,000 
women each year, more than all types of cancer combined. One of every 5 
women has some form of cardiovascular disease. One woman dies from it 
every minute.
  There are also troubling trends for women who survive heart attacks. 
I was astonished to learn that 38 percent of women who have heart 
attacks will die within one year of having that heart attack. Forty-six 
percent of women who have heart attacks will be disabled with heart 
failure within 6 years of having a heart attack. These statistics are 
simply unacceptable.
  There is good news, however. There are some simple steps both women 
and men can take to greatly reduce their risk for heart disease. We can 
lower our risk for heart disease simply by not smoking, exercising 
regularly, and eating a nutritionally-balanced diet because smoking, 
high blood pressure, obesity, and sedentary lifestyles are major risk 
factors for heart disease in us all, particularly women.
  As former Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, I 
am pleased to have been able to help double funding for the National 
Institutes of Health and support the work done by its National Heart, 
Lung, and Blood Institute, which currently is sponsoring a public 
awareness campaign on women and heart disease called ``The Heart 
Truth.'' This initiative is designed to spread the word that heart 
disease is not just a man's disease, motivate women to take their heart 
health seriously and encourage them to lower their risk for 
cardiovascular disease.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that we should help raise public awareness 
about women's heart health issues and support policies which promote 
the early diagnosis and proper treatment of women with cardiovascular 
disease. I hope that our colleagues join me in bringing attention to 
the importance of women's heart health. Our mothers, wives, sisters, 
and daughters depend on it.

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