American Heart Month, 1999

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 25 (Monday, February 8, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6181-6182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3183]



[[Page 6179]]

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Part VII





The President





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Proclamation 7166--American Heart Month, 1999

Executive Order 13112--Invasive Species


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents

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Title 3--
The President

[[Page 6181]]

                Proclamation 7166 of February 3, 1999

                
American Heart Month, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Thanks to the dedicated efforts of scientists and 
                researchers and the strong support of the American 
                public, today we stand at the threshold of a new 
                frontier in the prevention and treatment of heart 
                disease. And in coming years, Americans will reap even 
                greater benefits from our ongoing commitment to heart 
                research.

                Already, research has profoundly altered scientists' 
                understanding of heart disease, revealing that the 
                likelihood of heart disease is increased by risk 
                factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high 
                blood cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, physical 
                inactivity, and a family history of early heart 
                disease. Armed with this knowledge, millions of 
                Americans have been able to take steps to reduce their 
                risk of illness. Thanks to scientific discoveries, 
                those already afflicted with heart disease now have 
                access to lifesaving therapies and procedures such as 
                clot-dissolving drugs, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 
                defibrillation, and balloon angioplasty.

                Even greater advances lie ahead. Fields on the verge of 
                delivering major innovations include molecular 
                genetics, gene therapy, biotechnology, immunology, and 
                epidemiology. The next breakthroughs will include 
                better noninvasive diagnostic tools that can help 
                physicians examine the heart and blood vessels without 
                surgery; an implantable mechanical device that can 
                restore heart function to those suffering heart 
                failure; and a drug that can promote the growth of new 
                blood vessels to body tissues and organs with poor 
                circulation.

                But technology is not a panacea. Despite the great 
                gains we have made, heart disease remains the leading 
                cause of death in the United States, and millions of 
                Americans have at least one risk factor for heart 
                disease. Moreover, recent data have shown a slight rise 
                in the death rate for stroke and a slowing in the 
                decline of the death rate for coronary heart disease. 
                Some cardiovascular conditions, such as heart failure, 
                as well as two key heart disease risk factors, obesity 
                and physical inactivity, are on the increase among 
                Americans.

                We must work together to make all Americans aware of 
                the information science has given us regarding 
                controllable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. 
                It is particularly important that we reach out to 
                African Americans, Hispanic Americans, other minority 
                communities, and women, who often are at high risk for 
                heart disease and stroke, and ensure that they have 
                access to the resources and information they need to 
                guard against these afflictions. We must also encourage 
                families to teach their children the importance of 
                adopting healthy lifestyle practices early and 
                maintaining them into and throughout adulthood.

                The Federal Government continues to play a vital role 
                in improving the cardiovascular health of Americans by 
                supporting research and public education through the 
                National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the 
                National Institutes of Health. The American Heart 
                Association, through its research and education 
                programs and its broad network of dedicated volunteers, 
                also plays a crucial part in bringing about much-needed 
                advances.

[[Page 6182]]

                As Americans look ahead to a new century and a new 
                millennium, we should use the momentum of past heart 
                research as a springboard to even greater gains. In 
                recognition of the importance of the ongoing fight 
                against cardiovascular disease, the Congress, by Joint 
                Resolution approved December 30, 1963 (77 Stat. 843; 36 
                U.S.C. 169b), has requested that the President issue an 
                annual proclamation designating February as ``American 
                Heart Month.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim February 
                1999 as American Heart Month. I invite the Governors of 
                the States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials 
                of other areas subject to the jurisdiction of the 
                United States, and the American people to join me in 
                reaffirming our commitment to combating cardiovascular 
                disease and stroke.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                third day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-nine, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
                third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-3183
Filed 2-5-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P