| Americans are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. And though we have the best health care in the world, there is a critically important public health issue that often is overlooked: cardiovascular disease among women.
You may be 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 five 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 six 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. I also fully support the designation of February as American Heart Month, a time when we all should reaffirm our commitment to fighting heart disease.
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 you will do so by making healthy choices and talking to your doctor about heart disease. Your life may depend on it. |
