Proclamation 6528

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Approximately every 34 seconds, someone in the United States dies of some form of heart and blood vessel disease. Heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases kill nearly one million Americans every year.

Heart diseases and stroke exact an incalculable toll in human pain and suffering. More than 70 million Americans, young and old, currently suffer from one or more forms of cardiovascular disease. Stroke is the leading cause of serious disability and the third leading cause of death in the United States. Heart diseases and stroke also cost our Nation more than $117 billion in terms of health care expenses and lost productivity.

The Federal Government, through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the American Heart Association have spent millions of dollars on research into cardiovascular diseases and educational programs. That investment was greatly enhanced by the dedicated efforts of the Association's 3.7 million volunteers.

We know how important it is to educate people, particularly young people, about the use of tobacco products. We also know that controlling blood pressure, eating a diet low in fat and cholesterol, and exercising regularly are all prudent ways of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Advances in both the treatment and the prevention of heart and blood vessel diseases have resulted in great progress. From 1980 to 1990 age-adjusted death rates from heart attack declined 32.6 percent and during the same years the death rate from stroke dropped 32.4 percent.

Although significant progress has been made in the struggle to overcome cardiovascular diseases, we must not become complacent. We must strengthen and renew our commitment to winning this battle.

In recognition of the need for all Americans to become involved in the ongoing fight against cardiovascular diseases, 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 the month of February 1993 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 combatting cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

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

WILLIAM J. CLINTON