HR0126 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0126 LRB102 17143 ECR 22575 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Every 36 seconds, one person dies in the United States from cardiovascular disease; about 655,000 Americans die from heart disease each year, which accounts for one in every four deaths; and

WHEREAS, Including the cost of health care services, medicines, and lost productivity, the costs of heart disease to the United States are estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars; and

WHEREAS, In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds; every year, approximately 805,000 Americans have a heart attack with about 605,000 being a first heart attack; and

WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 80 percent of heart disease is preventable; and

WHEREAS, While nationwide programs assist in awareness and education, it is imperative that each state increase its efforts locally, regionally, and statewide to educate its citizens about heart disease, including how to prevent it and how to keep our hearts healthy; and

WHEREAS, President Lyndon B. Johnson, who suffered from a heart attack, issued the first proclamation declaring February to be American Heart Month in 1964; and

WHEREAS, Increasing awareness of heart health is important to reducing the prevalence of heart disease and heart attacks; and

WHEREAS, Promoting annual heart wellness checks, including cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar tests, would increase the chances of preventing the onset of heart attack or heart disease; and

WHEREAS, A new test, the coronary calcium scan or heart scan, helps reveal a person's risk of heart disease before other warning signs appear by assisting the doctor in detecting and measuring calcium containing plaque in the arteries; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge the importance of heart health, including the importance of coronary calcium scans or heart scans, in preventing the onset of a heart attack or heart disease, and we acknowledge the need to increase education and awareness of heart health locally, regionally, and throughout the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage citizens to obtain critical annual heart wellness tests.