Learn About the Issues

Cardiovascular disease is the Number One killer in America—claiming more lives each year than cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents and diabetes mellitus combined.

Americans with heart disease face a tough but increasingly winnable battle, thanks to advances in cardiology during the past 10 years that have reduced heart-related death and the severity of heart-related illness by 27 percent.

But those gains are at risk because of two separate issues, both of which have consequences that would result in reducing access to cardiac care. These issues—Medicare changes and some components of proposed health care reforms—would cause lengthy delays in diagnosis and treatment by forcing some physicians to curtail services and limit patient access to critically important technology.