Take Health to Heart – A Policy Agenda to Stop the Rise in Cardiovascular Deaths

Cardiovascular disease is an urgent national crisis that requires renewed attention.  

After a decades-long decline, the number of cardiovascular deaths is on the rise again. As the leading cause of death for all Americans – killing more people each year than all forms of cancer and accidents combined – cardiovascular disease is also the costliest condition among all major disease categories, accounting for 12% of total U.S. health expenditures and costing our economy a total of $378 billion each year.

Despite progress in our understanding of risk factors and the growing availability of new treatments, patients with cardiovascular disease continue to face access barriers that contribute to poor outcomes like heart attack, stroke, and death. This is particularly true for underserved populations including racial and ethnic minorities, women, and rural Americans that are disproportionately impacted by poor cardiovascular outcomes.

As organizations working to advance cardiovascular health and the interests of medically underserved communities, the Foundation of the National Lipid Association and the National Medical Association are launching the Take Health to Heart Initiative to drive public policy change to enable better access to optimal care and treatment, advance a more equitable healthcare system, and, ultimately, stop the rise in cardiovascular deaths.

Please join us on Wednesday, January 25th at 12:00PM ET for an expert-led webinar to kick off our initiative.  

Speakers

• Dr. Ann M. Liebeskind, MD, FNLA, FAAP (Lipidologist, Internist, Pediatrician; Mobile Health Team Lipids Clinic, NorthEast Wisconsin; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health; Vice President, Foundation of the National Lipid Association)
• Dr. Hakeem Ayinde, MD, MS, FACC, FHRS (Cardiac Electrophysiologist, Cardiology Associates of Fredericksburg; Clinical Assistant Professor, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Vice-Chair of Internal Medicine Section and Co-Chair of Cardiology Subsection, National Medical Association)
• Dr. Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FAHA, FNLA, FASCP (Professor of Medicine, Gerald S. Berenson Endowed Chair in Preventive Cardiology, John W. Deming Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine; Past-Chair, National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention)

Webinar Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• Cardiovascular Disease: A National Crisis
• Call to Action: A Policy Agenda to Stop the Rise in Cardiovascular Deaths
• Discussion
• Closing Remarks