CHICAGO — Cardiovascular disease, in particular heart attacks and strokes, remains the No. 1 killer of Americans, claiming nearly 1 million lives a year.
Its devastating effects run up billions of dollars in health-care costs and untold costs in worker productivity. Heart disease pays no heed to age, race, socio-economic status or gender. The risk of dying from heart disease is as great for women as for men, and it is nearly twice the risk of dying from all forms of cancer combined.
In the face of this epidemic, the most effective and powerful weapon in our arsenal is prevention. This month, with the theme for American Heart Month being "Get in on the Action!" physicians across the U.S. are joining the American Heart Association in urging Americans to make exercise a routine part of their lifestyle. Statistics show far too many adults lack appropriate levels of physical activity in their lives, although this lack has been demonstrated to be a key risk factor for heart disease.
A lifestyle that promotes regular exercise, a healthy diet and emotional well-being creates a solid foundation, but it does not guarantee protection from heart disease. Though smoking, diabetes, obesity and a family history of cardiovascular disease remain sources of concern for cardiologists, risk factors such as a high cholesterol level and high blood pressure can be managed medically better than ever before to help prevent an initial occurrence. And in addition to the wide option of therapies--medications, angioplasty, bypass surgery and the new minimally invasive surgical procedures--to treat patients with an initial heart attack, these same preventive measures have proven to be the most effective means of preventing a secondary occurrence.
Despite the great strides in patient care, much more still needs to be done to better understand the nature of heart disease. That's why it is very important that more funding is provided to support research on heart disease.
The American Heart Association points out that heart disease and stroke research receives a disproportionately low share of federal dollars: about $900 million each year. More than twice that amount is spent on cancer research, and about 50 percent more is spent on AIDS research.
The inability to obtain funding for research has turned large numbers of our brightest young physicians and scientists away from careers in research. If this alarming trend continues, the United States may lose and never recapture its position as the world leader in research and, ultimately, in patient care.
For patients and their families currently affected by heart disease, as well as those who will arrive tomorrow in emergency departments, a multipronged assault on heart disease--advances in research, education and patient care--is essential. Research in cardiovascular disease holds the key to a brighter future, but only if funding to support this important research is augmented beyond its current level.