Florida Senate - 2023                             (NP)    SR 392
       
       
        
       By Senator Burton
       
       
       
       
       
       12-00543-23                                            2023392__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing the urgent need for the
    3         expansion of existing comprehensive cardiovascular
    4         screening programs and for the creation of new
    5         initiatives to allow for earlier identification of
    6         patients at risk of cardiovascular events to decrease
    7         the number of deaths attributable to atherosclerotic
    8         cardiovascular disease.
    9  
   10         WHEREAS, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of
   11  death in the United States, and
   12         WHEREAS, in 2019, about 21 million patients were diagnosed
   13  with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), making them
   14  at risk for a cardiovascular event, and
   15         WHEREAS, ASCVD is linked to the build-up of cholesterol in
   16  the arteries, and the risk of associated events can be modified
   17  by lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and
   18         WHEREAS, it is estimated that in 2019 more than 102 million
   19  Americans 20 years of age or older had total cholesterol levels
   20  that exceeded what is considered the healthy range, and
   21         WHEREAS, in 2022, some 43.1 million Americans were being
   22  treated with lipid-lowering therapies to manage cardiovascular
   23  risk, and
   24         WHEREAS, that year, only 20 percent of people with ASCVD
   25  who were taking statins, one of the leading lipid-lowering
   26  therapies, achieved healthy levels of LDL-C, and
   27         WHEREAS, ASCVD has a substantial economic impact on our
   28  society, with national expenditures for the prevention and
   29  treatment of ASCVD totaling $126 billion in 2015, a number that
   30  is projected to reach $309 billion in 2035, and
   31         WHEREAS, in Florida, more than 1.65 million adults were
   32  diagnosed and told by a health professional in 2019 that they
   33  had angina or coronary artery disease or had suffered a stroke
   34  or heart attack, all of which are manifestations of ASCVD, and
   35         WHEREAS, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data shows that
   36  in that same year, ASCVD was reported as an underlying cause of
   37  death for 34,781 Floridians, and CDC survey data compiled in
   38  that period shows that 814,700 Florida adults reported having
   39  experienced a heart attack and 628,900 reported having
   40  experienced a stroke in their lifetimes, and
   41         WHEREAS, one report estimates that Floridians spend $9.64
   42  billion annually on direct medical expenses for ASCVD care, NOW,
   43  THEREFORE,
   44  
   45  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   46  
   47         That the extraordinarily high cost to Floridians of
   48  atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is recognized and that,
   49  in collaboration with the Federal Government, as appropriate,
   50  state agencies are encouraged to expand comprehensive
   51  cardiovascular screening programs to allow for earlier
   52  identification of patients at risk for cardiovascular events.
   53         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the activities implemented by
   54  the Department of Health and its partners to support the overall
   55  strategies of tracking and monitoring clinical quality measures,
   56  implementing team-based care, and linking community resources
   57  and clinical services are recognized as is the importance of
   58  vigilance in the administration of the department’s HeartHealth+
   59  Program to accelerate quality improvements in the care rendered
   60  to patients who are at risk of or who have symptoms of ASCVD so
   61  that screening, treatment, monitoring, and improved health
   62  outcomes are achieved.