HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2024-4656, by Representative Thai
1 WHEREAS, More than 877,500 Americans die of heart disease,
2 stroke, or other cardiovascular diseases every year. Heart disease
3 and stroke are the first and fifth leading causes of death in the
4 United States; and
5 WHEREAS, The centers for disease control and prevention (CDC)
6 estimates that someone in the United States has a heart attack every
7 40 seconds, but 80 percent of heart attacks are preventable; and
8 WHEREAS, The CDC's Million Hearts Program is a national
9 initiative to prevent 1,000,000 heart attacks and strokes between
10 2022 and 2027; and
11 WHEREAS, The CDC views high cholesterol as a modifiable risk
12 factor for cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke;
13 and
14 WHEREAS, The American heart association explains that
15 cardiovascular disease can refer to a number of conditions, including
16 heart disease, atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, heart failure,
17 arrhythmia, and heart valve problems; and
18 WHEREAS, Among Washington's 35 years of age and older population,
19 men are hospitalized for heart attacks at nearly twice the rate of
20 women; and
21 WHEREAS, Heart disease is the second leading cause of death in
22 Washington; and
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 1 WHEREAS, One in five women die of heart disease in Washington;
2 and
3 WHEREAS, One in four men die of heart disease in Washington; and
4 WHEREAS, Air pollution is one of many factors that impacts heart
5 health. Exposure to fine particle pollution contributes to
6 cardiovascular disease and death. People who breathe in higher levels
7 of fine particle pollution over a long time have more heart problems,
8 like heart attacks, than people who breathe in less of this kind of
9 pollution; and
10 WHEREAS, Researchers with the family heart foundation found that
11 despite the availability of effective treatments for high
12 cholesterol, 71 percent of hypercholesterolemia patients at high risk
13 for heart attack and stroke never achieve low-density lipoprotein
14 levels below recommended thresholds; and
15 WHEREAS, The LDL-C action summit, a consortium of the nation's
16 leading cardiovascular stakeholder groups, seeks to cut
17 cardiovascular events in half by 2030; and
18 WHEREAS, February was first proclaimed national heart health
19 month by United States president Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 to focus
20 on cardiovascular health, raise awareness about the risks of heart
21 disease, and highlight the possible steps that can be adopted to save
22 the lives of those countless people and address the unequal burden of
23 heart disease in overburdened communities;
24 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington House of
25 Representatives urge health care providers to educate the public and
26 treat all cardiovascular disease patients in accordance with American
27 college of cardiology treatment guidelines; and
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the members of this chamber
29 recognize February as heart health month in Washington state.
30
31 I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of
32 Resolution 4656 adopted by the House of Representatives
33 February 1, 2024
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38 __________________________
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1 Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk
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