[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 5 (Monday, February 2, 1998)]
[Pages 168-169]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7066--American Heart Month, 1998

January 30, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    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 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

[[Page 169]]

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

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., February 2, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
February 3.