[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 6 (Monday, February 9, 2004)]
[Page 181]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Signing the American Heart Month Proclamation

February 2, 2004

    The President. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for the kind 
introduction. [Laughter] I don't know why you reminded them about the 
pretzel. [Laughter] I am so pleased you all are here. I want to thank 
Members of the United States Senate who came today, starting with 
Majority Leader Bill Frist, and Karyn. We're honored you are here. 
Thanks for coming. Thad Cochran, Susan Collins, and Byron Dorgan, you 
all are really kind to join us here. It's really important for the 
Congress to be involved with this initiative, as well as the White 
House.
    I appreciate my friend Elias Zerhouni. He's doing a fabulous job at 
the National Institute of Health. You really have taken on a tough 
assignment, and you've done it with such class. Thank you for your 
service.
    I want to thank all the survivors of heart disease who are here. I 
asked the Vice President what he was up to. [Laughter]
    The First Lady. What did he say?
    The President. He said he was heading to the treadmill. [Laughter] I 
want to thank everybody who is--who shares in this important cause. I 
really appreciate Laura for helping to lead The Heart Truth, the 
campaign to educate women about heart disease. I'm really proud of you.
    By spreading vital information, this campaign will save women's 
lives. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women--and men--
so it's important that we send this heart truth message to all our 
citizens, to all Americans.
    It's also important for people to know that the risk of heart 
disease can be greatly reduced with good diet and regular exercise. 
Whatever our age or physical condition or however busy we may be, we can 
all do something to stay healthy, and that's important.
    The miracles of modern medicine we now enjoy make us forget some 
wisdom from the past, such as, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound 
of cure. It made sense then, and it makes sense today, particularly when 
you're dealing with heart disease. And so we started what's called the 
HealthierUS Initiative, which is encouraging Americans to focus on four 
simple goals: Exercise daily, eat right, avoid tobacco, drugs, and 
excessive alcohol, and get preventive screenings to detect problems 
early.
    By focusing on these commonsense steps, we can save many lives we 
lose each year to preventable conditions like heart disease. In other 
words, just do some wise things with your life. It's just not all that 
complicated, but it's up to you to make the right choice. It's up to our 
fellow citizens to make the right decision necessary to protect their 
bodies.
    I want to thank all of you all for working so hard to help citizens 
make the right choice, to send a clear message, to help people 
understand the need for healthier lives in America.
    And now it's my honor to welcome the heart disease survivors to join 
Laura and me as I sign the proclamation of American Heart Month, 2004.

Note: The President spoke at 10:59 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Karyn Frist, wife of Senator Bill 
Frist.