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A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and StrokeA Message from the Directors of CDC and NIHA Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke is a call to action for tackling one of our nation's foremost challenges—to prevent and control chronic diseases. To meet the challenge, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are charged with providing leadership to reduce heart disease and stroke, using Healthy People 2010 objectives as their guide. The CDC and the NIH gratefully acknowledge the many individuals from such areas as public health practice, academia, and voluntary health organizations, whose dedicated efforts have produced the Action Plan. By implementing this plan through collaborations with these and other partners, we can make the nation's public health system more effective in protecting the health and enhancing the daily lives of all Americans. Our national goal for preventing and controlling heart disease and stroke requires prevention, detection, and treatment of risk factors; early identification and treatment of heart attacks and strokes; and prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events. The Action Plan presents a framework for public health action that addresses each of these requirements, from preventing risk factors to assuring accessible, high–quality care for patients with these conditions. The success of this comprehensive public health strategy will also contribute to meeting the overarching goals of Healthy People 2010, which are to increase quality and years of healthy life and to eliminate health disparities. Our greatest challenges often represent our greatest opportunities. The challenge is formidable—turning the tide on our nation's leading causes of death and major contributors to disability and dependency. We must not underestimate the commitment needed. By making this commitment and fully implementing the Action Plan, the public health community, along with present and future partners, will improve our nation's health. We invite each of you to join us in making this plan a reality. Julie Louise Gerberding,
MD, MPH Elias A. Zerhouni, MD Next Section: Executive Summary
Date last reviewed:
05/12/2006 |
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