This Article Free upon publication Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 118/21/2209    most recent CIRCULATIONAHA.108.191092v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Gibbons, R. J. Articles by Yancy, C. W. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gibbons, R. J. Articles by Yancy, C. W. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Choosing a Doctor or Health Care Service Related Collections Health policy and outcome research

(Circulation. 2008;118:2209-2218.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

AHA Policy Statement

The American Heart Association’s 2008 Statement of Principles for Healthcare Reform

Raymond J. Gibbons, MD, FAHA; Daniel W. Jones, MD, FAHA; Timothy J. Gardner, MD, FAHA; Larry B. Goldstein, MD, FAHA; James H. Moller, MD, FAHA; Clyde W. Yancy, MD, FAHA

Key Words: AHA Scientific Statement • cardiovascular diseases • health policy • health care reform • stroke • risk factors

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Introduction

 
Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke" is the mission of the American Heart Association (AHA). The AHA realizes that the current healthcare crisis in the United States threatens this mission. Thus, we have prepared this statement regarding healthcare reform with particular emphasis on cardiovascular diseases and stroke. We intend to promote and actively engage in a dialogue within the country that addresses these critical issues.

There is an urgent need to reform our healthcare system to improve the lives of individuals who have (or who are at risk for developing) cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Nearly 15 years have passed since healthcare reform became a prominent national policy issue. In 1993 and 1994, a series of articles appeared in Circulation describing the principles, recommendations and concerns of the AHA regarding healthcare reform.^1–6

Tremendous accomplishments have been made over the intervening years in the biological and clinical sciences, resulting in significant improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Unfortunately, new challenges threaten to reverse these gains, including the aging of the population and unwise lifestyle choices related to smoking, diet and physical activity. Children with congenital heart disease, who formerly would have died, now survive to confront these challenges. Barriers—often arising from the cost of care in the current healthcare system—make the delivery of patient-centered health care increasingly difficult. Many patients cannot readily access high-quality, evidence-based healthcare services, and healthcare providers face similar difficulties when trying to deliver these services.

With over 46 million . . . [Full Text of this Article]