Washington, D.C. – To fight the number-one killer among women in America, New York
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today co-signed the Heart disease Education,
Analysis and Research, and Treatment (HEART) for Women Act. The HEART
for Women Act will help raise awareness about the risks, prevention and
treatment for heart disease, provide gender and race-specific
information for clinicians and researchers, and expand access to heart
disease and stroke screenings for low-income women.
“We have a responsibility to do everything we can to fight a disease
that claims more lives of women in America than any other cause,”
Senator Gillibrand said. “We’ll make sure all women know how to get
the screenings and the care they need, and we’ll arm doctors, clinics
and researchers with the resources they need to reach out and treat
more women, and save lives.”
Heart attack, stroke and
cardiovascular diseases kill nearly as many women as the next five
causes of death combined. Progress in fighting heart disease among
women has been slow compared to men. The HEART for Women Act will
combat heart disease in the following ways:
Raising Awareness
The
HEART for Women Act would authorize grants to educate health
professionals about the prevalence and details of care for women for
prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. It also
authorizes the Medicare program to conduct an educational awareness
campaign for older women about their risk for heart disease and stroke.
Providing Targeted Information
Health
care data already being reported to the federal government would be
required to be targeted by gender, race and ethnicity to improve
prevention and treatment efforts.
Increasing Access to Screenings
The
HEART for Women Act would expand a screening service from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention for low-income, uninsured and
underinsured women from 20 states to all 50 states.