[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 51 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 51
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Wear Red Day.
_______________________________________________________________________
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 National Wear Red Day.
Whereas heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United
States;
Whereas it is estimated that 42.1 million American women 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; advanced age significantly increases the risk);
gender (women's risk rises sharply after menopause; each year more women
than men have a stroke); 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
American women 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 American women 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 39 million American women have high blood pressure;
Whereas more than 19.7 million America women have cholesterol levels in excess
of 240 mg/dL, the level at which it becomes a major risk factor;
Whereas an estimated 21 million American women 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 American adults do not get enough physical
activity, and more than 25 percent are not physically active at all;
Whereas 62 percent of Americans women are overweight or obese;
Whereas it is estimated that more than 10 million American women have diabetes
and that 65 percent of those so afflicted will die of some form of heart
disease;
Whereas the American Heart Association projects that in 2007 485,000 American
women will have a first or recurrent heart attack and that 45 percent of
these women will die as a result;
Whereas 35 percent of American women who suffer a heart attack in 2007 will
suffer a recurrent attack within 6 years;
Whereas 38 percent of American women who suffer their first heart attack in 2007
will die within 1 year;
Whereas in 2007 approximately 374,000 American women will suffer a new or
recurrent stroke and 92,000 of these women will die as a result;
Whereas advances in medical research have significantly improved the capacity of
American women 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 National Wear Red Day is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health of the
Department of Health and Human Services, as an annual event held on the
first Friday in February to increase awareness among American women
about their risk of heart disease; and
Whereas National Wear Red Day 2007 will be observed on Friday, February 2, 2007:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) supports the goals and ideals of National Wear Red Day;
(2) encourages Americans nationwide to take women's health
to heart by wearing red on National Wear Red Day 2007 to show
their support for women's heart disease awareness;
(3) encourages Americans nationwide to support The Heart
Truth, the national awareness campaign designed by the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to alert women about their
risk for heart disease;
(4) encourages all American women, especially women ages 40
to 60, the time when a woman's risk of heart disease starts to
rise, to embrace the goals of The Heart Truth campaign and take
action to modify, prevent, and control their risk factors for
heart disease;
(5) encourages all Americans, men and women alike, to take
to heart the 4 simple healthy life, healthy heart goals
identified by the HealthierUS Initiative of the Department of
Health and Human Services: exercise regularly and maintain a
healthy weight; develop good eating habits; avoid tobacco
products, drugs and excessive alcohol; and have regular medical
checkups to take advantage of screenings that can detect heart-
disease related problems early;
(6) recognizes and reaffirms our Nation's commitment to
fighting heart disease by promoting awareness about its causes,
risks, and prevention and by promoting new education programs,
supporting research, and expanding access to medical treatment;
and
(7) recognizes all Americans battling heart disease,
expresses gratitude to their family members and friends who are
a source of love and encouragement as they combat this disease,
and salutes the health care professionals and medical
researchers who provide assistance to those so afflicted and
continue to work to find cures and improve treatments.
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