Women's Heart Health Resolution

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, today, I, along with my colleague, Congresswoman Donna Edwards, who is here with me today, am introducing an important bipartisan resolution targeting heart disease in women.

Dubbed ``the silent killer,'' this disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. Since 1984, more women have died of heart disease than men. It is the leading cause of death in West Virginia, claiming more than 4,800 lives in the year 2010.

Preventative screenings can make a huge difference in helping women learn the risk of heart disease and how to reduce that risk. Women often rely on their OB/GYNs and community health centers for primary care, and our resolution seeks to educate women of all ages on the need to make heart health an important part of their screening wherever they receive care and from whoever they are seeing.

Women spend so much time taking care of others--spouses, children, aging parents, and the responsibilities of work. It is time to encourage all women to take better care of themselves.

Learn your risk factors. Learn how to be healthier. Learn how to live longer and healthier for yourself and for those that you love.

Source