Celebrating brighter futures and healthier hearts during American Heart Month

This weekend on Valentine’s Day, we take time to celebrate our friends, family and significant others with acts of love and attention. But we also have the opportunity during American Heart Month to celebrate the tremendous progress made in the fight against heart disease and the advances being made today.

Remarkable strides have been made in the treatment of heart disease, thanks in large part to prevention efforts and innovative medicines developed by America’s biopharmaceutical companies. In fact, the death rate from heart disease has declined 46 percent since 1991. Still, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, taking the lives of one in three Americans and costing society nearly $320 billion each year. There is more work to be done. For example, appropriate use of and better adherence to medicines can play an important role in decreasing long-term spending on other medical services. Access to medicines through Medicare Part D coverage plays a key role in treating heart disease and stroke. A recent study found that improved medication adherence following expansion of Medicare Part D led to nearly $2.3 billion in savings in annual Medicare expenditures among beneficiaries with congestive heart failure. Additionally, cardiovascular-related mortality rates dropped 15 percent after Medicare Part D was implemented.

Beyond adherence, new potential therapies using cutting-edge technologies and new scientific approaches promise to build on the progress made by existing treatments. Today, there are 190 medicines in development for cardiovascular disease, providing patients like Roxanne with more hope than before.

As we celebrate American Heart Month this February, it is important to remember the role innovation and adherence play in helping patients live longer, healthier lives by reducing the burden of heart disease.

For more information about how America’s biopharmaceutical research companies are fighting cardiovascular disease, visit http://www.fromhopetocures.org/fighting-cardiovascular-diseases.