(Washington, D.C. – April 8, 2013) Hundreds of American Heart Association volunteers are in Washington D.C. today to urge Congress to restore funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and provide funds from the Prevention and Public Health Fund for a new national campaign to reduce high blood pressure.
Advocates will meet with their congressional representatives and request that they make sustained support for NIH-funded research and a hypertension prevention campaign under the Million Hearts initiative key priorities for Congress. They will also join forces with volunteers from over 150 other non-profit organizations in a “Rally to Fund Medical Research” today they will call on federal lawmakers to make funding for life-saving medical research a national priority.
The March 1 sequester slashed nearly $1.6 billion or five percent of the NIH budget. A cut of this magnitude will reduce the number of research grants by about 2,300, cost more than 20,000 jobs nationwide and shrink new economic activity by nearly $3 billion. A typical NIH grant supports about 7 mainly high-tech full-time or part-time jobs. Every dollar that the NIH distributes through its grants returns more than $2 in goods and services annually to a local community. Based on 2012 data, the sequestration could cost New York $101.92 million in grants.
“If the NIH cuts remain in place they will damage our fragile economy and also threaten our nation’s position as the global leader in medical research,” said American Heart Association President Donna Arnett, PhD, MSPH. “More importantly, ongoing reduced support for the NIH could delay finding critical cures for prevalent and costly diseases such as heart disease and stroke.”
During meetings with representatives, volunteers will also ask lawmakers to designate $35 million from the Prevention and Public Health Fund to support a national high blood pressure campaign under the Million Hearts initiative. More than one in three adults in the United States have high blood pressure, but less than half have their condition under control. High blood pressure is one of the leading factors that can lead to a heart attack or stroke.