American Heart Assn. Recognizes Sens. Collins, Feingold & Rep. Capps With Nat'l Public Service Awards; Satcher Receives Award

4/29/2002

From: Eric Bolton or Kelly Kennai or Eric Webb, 202-785-7900, all of the American Heart Association

WASHINGTON, April 29 -- The American Heart Association will honor three legislators and a former Surgeon General of the United States tonight at a Capitol Hill reception to honor their contributions in the fight against heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases -- the No. 1 killer in the nation.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), and Rep. Lois Capps (R-Calif.), will each receive the association's 2002 National Public Service Award for their legislative work on behalf of the nation's cardiovascular health. Dr. David Satcher will receive a Special Recognition Award to honor his work on behalf of heart disease and stroke as the 16th Surgeon General of the United States. During Dr. Satcher's tenure, the American Heart Association and several federal health agencies, including the Surgeon General's office, formally agreed to work together to significantly reduce the incidence and impact of cardiovascular diseases on the nation by 2010.

Sen. Collins and Sen. Feingold, both members of the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition, are being recognized for their efforts to make automated external defibrillators (AEDs) more widely available to the general public. About the size of a laptop computer, AEDs are highly automated devices that can save the life of a cardiac arrest victim by providing an electric shock that can stop an abnormal heart rhythm and allow the normal heart rhythm to take over. Each year, about 250,000 people die from sudden cardiac arrest.

Feingold and Collins were lead sponsors of the Rural AED Act of 2000, which authorizes federal funding to make AEDs available to rural areas of the country. Both Senators are also co-sponsors of the Community AED Act of 2001, which authorizes $55 million a year for five years to communities to purchase AEDs, and to train first responders in their use. Collins and Feingold are also the lead sponsors of the Teaching Children to Save Lives Act, which authorizes funds to provide CPR training for school kids.

Feingold and Collins are also primary co-sponsors of the Emergency Medical Services Support Act of 2002, which seeks to strengthen emergency medical services throughout the nation.

Finally, both Senators have also consistently supported the association's call for the doubling of the budget of the National Institutes of Health by FY 2003, including a doubling of research and prevention funding for NIH-supported cardiovascular programs for the same period.

Rep. Capps, in her third year as House co-chair of the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition, is being recognized for championing many association-backed heart and stroke initiatives in the House of Representatives, including introducing the Teaching Children to Save Lives Act, the Community AED Act, and the Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act. The latter legislation would help ensure that stroke is more widely recognized by the public and treated more effectively by healthcare providers.