CDC Prevention Programs
An estimated 80% of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, are preventable. However, cardiovascular disease remains the No. 1 killer and the most expensive disease, costing nearly $1 billion a day. While cardiovascular disease is largely preventable, it tops the disease burden list and this situation is expected to worsen according to recent projections showing that by 2035, 45% of the U.S. adult population will live with cardiovascular disease at an annual cost of more than $1 trillion. Yet effective Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) evidence-based programs are not fully implemented due to limited congressional resources. Congress can help stem the effect of cardiovascular disease and make the U.S. a healthier place to live by ensuring that each state has sufficient resources to implement tailored programs to help prevent and control this costly, disabling and deadly disease.
The American Heart Association advocates for robust funding for CDC’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Programs, including heart disease and stroke prevention, Million Hearts 2022, and WISEWOMAN.
CDC supports heart disease and stroke prevention in all 50 states, and the District of Columbia. These programs work to prevent, manage and reduce heart disease and stroke, with an emphasis on cutting risk factors and reducing health disparities within State, local, and Tribal public health departments and boost surveillance and implementation research.
A public-private initiative, Million Hearts 2022 works to prevent 1 million heart attacks strokes over five years through the continued implementation of the ABCS (aspirin as appropriate, blood pressure control, cholesterol management, and smoking cessation), development of innovative, scalable ways to communities and the healthcare sector to execute evidence-based prevention in the highest burden areas; and to expand focus on physical activity, cardiac rehabilitation, and people age 35-64 whose event rates are on the rise.
The Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program helps uninsured and under-insured low-income women ages 40 to 64 understand and reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke by providing risk factor screenings and connecting them with lifestyle programs, health counseling and other community resources that promote lasting, healthy behavior change.
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