IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 52 

Supporting the goals and ideals of American Heart Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 31, 2007 

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD submitted the following concurrent resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of American Heart Month. 

Whereas heart disease affects adult men and women of every 

age and race in the United States; 

Whereas heart disease continues to be the leading cause of 

death in the United States; 

Whereas an estimated 79 million adult Americans, nearly one 

in every 3, have 1 or more types of heart disease, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, and congenital heart defects; 

Whereas extensive clinical and statistical studies have identified major and contributing factors that increase the risk 

of heart disease; 

Whereas these studies have identified the following as major 

risk factors that cannot be changed: age (the risk of developing heart disease gradually increases as people age; 


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advanced age significantly increases the risk); gender 

(men have greater risk of developing heart disease than 

women); and heredity (children of parents with heart disease are more likely to develop it themselves; African 

Americans have more severe high blood pressure than 

Caucasians and therefore are at higher risk; the risk is 

also higher among Latina Americans, some Asian Americans, and Native Americans and other indigenous populations); 

Whereas these studies have identified the following as major 

risk factors that Americans can modify, treat or control 

by changing their lifestyle or seeking appropriate medical 

treatment: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, 

smoking tobacco products and exposure to tobacco 

smoke, physical inactivity, obesity, and diabetes mellitus; 

Whereas these studies have identified the following as contributing risk factors that Americans can also take action 

to modify, treat or control by changing their lifestyle or 

seeking appropriate medical treatment: individual response to stress, excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, use of certain illegal drugs, and hormone replacement therapy; 

Whereas more than 72 million adult Americans have high 

blood pressure; 

Whereas more than 36.6 million Americans have cholesterol 

levels of 240 mg/dL or higher, the level at which it becomes a major risk factor; 

Whereas an estimated 46 million Americans put themselves 

at risk for heart disease every day by smoking cigarettes; 

Whereas data released by the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention shows that more than 60 percent of 


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American adults do not get enough physical activity, and 

more than 25 percent are not physically active at all; 

Whereas 66 percent of adult Americans are overweight or 

obese; 

Whereas 20 million adult Americans have diabetes and 65 

percent of those so afflicted will die of some form of 

heart disease; 

Whereas the American Heart Association projects that in 

2007 1.2 million Americans will have a first or recurrent 

heart attack and 452,000 of these people will die as a result; 

Whereas in 2007 approximately 700,000 Americans will suffer a new or recurrent stroke and 150,000 of these people will die as a result; 

Whereas advances in medical research have significantly improved our capacity to fight heart disease by providing 

greater knowledge about its causes, innovative diagnostic 

tools to detect the disease, and new and improved treatments that help people survive and recover from this disease; 

Whereas the Congress by Joint Resolution approved on December 30, 1963, (77 Stat. 843; 36 U.S.C. 101) has requested that the President issue an annual proclamation 

designating February as ‘‘American Heart Month’’; and 

Whereas every year since 1964 the President has issued a 

proclamation designating the month February as ‘‘American Heart Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That the Congress— 


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1 (1) supports the goals and ideals of American 

2 Heart Month; 

3 (2) invites the chief executive officers of the 

4 States, territories, and possessions of the United 

5 States to issue proclamations designating American 

6 Heart Month and recognizing the goals and ideals of 

7 American Heart Month; 

8 (3) commends the efforts of States, territories 

9 and possessions of the United States, localities, non10 profit organizations, businesses, and other entities, 

11 and the people of the United States who support the 

12 goals and ideals of American Heart Month; 

13 (4) recognizes and reaffirms our Nation’s com14 mitment to fighting heart disease by promoting 

15 awareness about its causes, risks, and prevention 

16 and by promoting new education programs, sup17 porting research, and expanding access to medical 

18 treatment; 

19 (5) recognizes all Americans battling heart dis20 ease, expresses gratitude to their family members 

21 and friends who are a source of love and encourage22 ment to them as they combat this disease, and sa23 lutes the health care professionals and medical re24 searchers who provide assistance to those so afflicted 


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1 and continue to work to find cures and improve 

2 treatments; and 

3 (6) encourages each and every American to take 

4 to heart the four simple healthy life, healthy heart 

5 goals identified by the HealthierUS Initiative of the 

6 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 

7 exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight; de8 velop good eating habits; avoid tobacco products, 

9 drugs and excessive alcohol; and have regular med10 ical checkups to take advantage of screenings that 

11 can detect heart-disease related problems early. 

Æ 


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