President Lyndon Baines Johnson understood that even in his time, heart disease was a serious problem in America. That is why he declared February American Heart Month. The formal designation for this proclamation began in 1964, making February 2014 the 50th anniversary since its designation.
It is important to remember this occasion and the purpose of the month because it sparked change in our nation’s health research history. In 1960, about 662,000 Americans died of heart disease and 924,000 died as a result of cardiovascular diseases. Compare that to recent years, when in 2010 only 600,000 died of heart disease and 784,000 from cardiovascular diseases. While at first glance this may not seem like much, but when you compare the population of America at the time, these numbers have new meaning. The population between those two years has grown by over 72 percent. Taking this into account, the number of Americans saved by the progress of cardiovascular research has been in the tens of thousands.
This is a testament to the importance of American Heart Month. All modern medicine, technology, and knowledge of the heart and the cardiovascular system can be attributed to one thing: research. American Heart Month made people more aware of a problem, and this resulted in more research and, as a result, discovery.
Heart disease is still the leading killer of Americans annually, even more than all forms of cancer combined. That is why the continued research and discovery of heart health is so necessary. The numbers show that there has been a great deal of progress since the start of American Heart Month, and the numbers will continue to show that as the years go on. To find out more about American Heart Month, about cardiovascular research and about cardiac monitoring, visit the ReactDx, Inc website today.