American Heart Association leaders testify on Hill

American Heart Association
Thursday, 6 June 2002

Investment in heart and stroke research leads to advances, but more needs to be done to fight nation's leading killers, panel told

Research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has provided many advances in the fight against heart disease and stroke, yet more resources are needed if death and disability from the nation's number one and number three killers are going to be reduced, representatives from the American Heart Association told a House of Representatives Subcommittee today.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health heard from two leading physicians in the field of heart disease and stroke in a hearing addressing NIH research. Robert O. Bonow, M.D., president-elect of the American Heart Association and Goldberg Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiology, and Daniel W. Jones, M.D., associate vice chancellor for health affairs and associate dean, School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, discussed the role of the NIH in providing resources to learn more about the prevention and treatment of heart disease and stroke.

Focusing his remarks on heart disease research, Bonow told the members of the Subcommittee, "Thanks to your investment in NIH, exciting medical advances benefit countless Americans suffering from heart disease and those at risk." He credited the federal government's investment in research for advances in detection and treatment such as imaging technologies and procedures to treat damaged hearts, as well as cutting-edge, life-extending medication to control cholesterol and high blood pressure and other risk factors.

Despite these advances, Bonow cautioned, heart disease remains the nation's number one killer. "Now is the time to capitalize on a century of progress to understand the fundamental causes of heart disease and to develop new treatments," he said. "According to a national expert panel supported by Congress, America's progress in reducing the death rate from cardiovascular diseases has slowed, suggesting the need for new strategies against these killers."

Jones told the subcommittee a similar story regarding stroke. "Together, NIH and the stroke community have advanced our knowledge of this disease – which was once viewed as untreatable. But important new information shows promise for improved diagnoses, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention," he said. "The bad news is that stroke is still the nation's third leading cause of death and a major cause of disability. We must resolve to do more." He commented that with our aging population, incidences of stroke will substantially increase unless a commitment is made to fight the disease.

Both Bonow and Jones thanked members of the Subcommittee for their support of the effort to double the NIH budget by FY 2003, but reminded them that heart disease and stroke research are still significantly underfunded despite the burden the diseases impose on the nation and the abundant scientific opportunities that need funding to advance the fight against them.

Heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases will cost the U.S. an estimated $330 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity this year – more than any other disease. Heart disease alone will cost $214 billion, and stroke will cost $50 billion. Even with these enormous costs, heart research receives only 8 percent of the NIH budget and stroke receives only 1 percent.

They also related the need to translate research into much needed prevention and treatment options and asked the Subcommittee to support an increase in funding for programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as legislative proposals such as the Medicare Cholesterol Screening Coverage Act which would require Medicare to pay for preventative cholesterol screenings to detect heart disease and stroke risk, and the Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act which would help ensure that stroke is more widely recognized by the public and treated more effectively by health care professionals.

For more information, or to contact American Heart Association, see their website at: www.americanheart.org