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Feature Articles

  • The NHLBI Pairs with Communities to Prevent Obesity and Heart Disease
  • Studies Quantify the Value of Medical Research to the U.S. Economy
  • Cholesterol Counts for Everyone

The NHLBI Pairs with Communities to Prevent Obesity and Heart Disease

Hearts N' Parks

This summer, the NHLBI and the National Recreation and Park Association kicked off a community-based program, Hearts N' Parks, to increase the number of children and adults practicing heart-healthy behaviors. “Hearts N' Parks builds upon the NHLBI's efforts to work with communities to reduce the prevalence of coronary heart disease,” said NHLBI Director Claude Lenfant, MD. “It is a fine example of how we can apply what research has shown to improve the health of all Americans.”

The program was piloted last year in 12 North Carolina communities. Children in the communities reported learning new activities and improving their performance in others; seniors completing the program reported feeling healthier and experiencing less pain in their daily lives. “A major goal of Healthy People 2010 is reducing obesity, as well as improving the nutritional status and level of physical activity among all Americans,” said Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher. "Hearts N' Parks shows what the federal government can accomplish with community and private sector support to improve the health of Americans from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds."

Organizations interested in joining the program should visit the Hearts N’ Parks Web site through the NHLBI's home page.

Modified 8/15/00
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Studies Quantify the Value of Medical Research to the U.S. Economy


It is relatively straightforward to assess the impact of medical research on human health by measuring increases in life expectancy, decreases in infant mortality, changes in hospitalization rates, and decreases in death rates from specific diseases such as heart failure or stroke. However, establishing the monetary value of medical research is more difficult. The Mary Woodard Lasker Charitable Trust’s report entitled “Exceptional Returns: The Economic Value of America's Investment in Medical Research” focuses on six independent attempts to establish this value; while the results differ as widely as the methods used, all of the values are impressive. The report is based on research papers by leading economists, each of whom concludes that medical research has produced exceptionally high returns and that the nation’s continued investment is likely to deliver returns of similar magnitude in the future. The authors’ remarkable conclusions include:

“Increases in life expectancy in just the decades of the 1970's and 1980's were worth $57 trillion to Americans - a figure six times larger than the entire output of tangible good[s] and services [in 1999]. The gains associated with the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease alone totaled $31 trillion.”
“Improvements in health account for almost one-half of the actual gain in American living standards in the past 50 years.”
“Medical research that reduced deaths from cancer by just one-fifth would be worth $10 trillion to Americans - double the national debt.”
“While it is not always possible to pin down cause and effect, the likely returns from medical research are so extraordinarily high that the payoff from any plausible ‘portfolio’ of investments in research would be enormous.”

The full report is available through the Mary Woodard Lasker Charitable Trust’s Web page.

Modified 8/9/00
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Cholesterol Counts for Everyone

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States. The risk of getting CHD is very high; one out of every two men and one out of every three women will develop CHD in their lifetime. Up to three-quarters of Americans over the age of 65 have either obvious or subclinical disease. Fortunately, most people can reduce their risk of getting this debilitating and often fatal disease by making simple lifestyle changes. One such change is to reduce their cholesterol levels.

Blood cholesterol plays an important part in determining a person's likelihood of getting CHD. The higher the cholesterol level, the greater the risk. Clinical trials have shown that cholesterol lowering by both men and women can prolong life. It reduces the risk of having a heart attack and dying of CHD.

The early stages of cholesterol buildup in the arteries that lays the groundwork for CHD begin during the teen years and early 20s. Establishing a healthy eating pattern and other positive habits early in life are important steps for keeping CHD risk low. It is important for young adults to have their cholesterol levels measured and adopt habits that decrease their likelihood of getting CHD. Waiting until mid-life to measure and treat cholesterol is risky. Approximately one-third of first CHD events are fatal, leaving no second chance.

Lowering cholesterol also is beneficial for middle-aged adults and seniors. One in three men who reach 70 years of age without developing CHD will develop it within his remaining years. For women who are CHD-free at age 70, the risk also is high; one in four such women will go on to have CHD.

The basic steps to lower cholesterol are simple: follow a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, be physically active, and maintain a healthy weight. For help on implementing these lifestyle changes, visit the National Cholesterol Education Program's Web site.

Modified 8/11/00
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