[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4739]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          AMERICAN HEART MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, let me first offer my warmest 
thanks to my dear friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from Illinois, 
who led the debate on the floor today in my absence on my bill that is 
recognizing this month as American Heart Month. I was told that she did 
a great job, and I am very grateful to her for that. Traveling from 
California to Washington sometimes is quite a task, and we appreciate 
our friends for standing in for us.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak briefly in support of this 
resolution, as heart disease is an issue of great importance to our 
Nation's health, especially women who many have felt for years that 
breast cancer was the number one killer for women.
  For over 40 years, the Federal Government has recognized February as 
American Heart Month, and during this time we have made great strides 
in fighting heart disease in this country. New medical innovations have 
improved the treatment of heart disease, and public education campaigns 
have made Americans more aware of the importance of prevention.
  Nonetheless, heart disease is still the number one killer of 
Americans, both men and women. One in three Americans has some form of 
heart disease, whether it be high blood pressure, coronary heart 
disease, heart failure, stroke, or congenital cardiovascular defects. 
And while men are more likely to suffer from heart disease in their 
lives, women are not far behind.
  While women may have a lower incidence of heart disease than men, 
women with heart disease are less likely to receive the proper 
preventative, diagnostic, and treatment interventions. This could be 
due to the fact that medical professionals consider heart disease to be 
primarily an affliction of men and are therefore slower to recognize it 
in women.
  Additionally, women suffering from a heart attack or angina are more 
likely to have atypical symptoms. In fact, women with atypical heart 
attack symptoms who are sent home undiagnosed from the hospital are 
about twice as likely to die from a heart attack as individuals who are 
admitted.
  Another problem with managing heart disease in women is that most of 
the research on coronary heart disease has been exclusively or 
primarily done on men. As a result, test and treatments developed from 
these studies may be less effective in women. This is why there is an 
urge to test more women and do more research on coronary heart disease 
with women.
  Mr. Speaker, American Heart Month is a time to remember how far we 
have come, as well as how far we need to go. Heart disease is not just 
a man's disease, and one of the next big frontiers in battling heart 
disease involves improving its management in women. Additionally, men 
and women alike need to remember that preventing heart disease early is 
preferable to treating it later. A healthy diet, regular exercise, and 
avoidance of smoking all reduce a person's risk for heart disease. By 
enhancing both treatment and prevention of heart disease, we will go a 
much further way, a long way, to improving the health and the hearts of 
all Americans.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation when it comes 
to the floor tomorrow for a vote.

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