Medical Research Helps Us All Live Longer, Healthier Lives
Take action today to protect NIH funding.
Over several decades, we’ve seen a decrease in the number of people who suffer from cardiovascular disease and experience deadly strokes. Innovations in science and medicine have led to improvements in our heart and brain health. Many of these innovations are a result of bipartisan support in Congress for investing in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest source of public funding for medical research in the world.
Recently, government leaders and researchers have engaged in intense discussions about the role of NIH and funding for medical research. This week, the American Heart Association released a presidential advisory that offers five principles to strengthen medical research and preserve the role of the NIH in supporting life-saving medical research.
As the federal government considers the future of the NIH, the American Heart Association offers 5 principles to help us all live longer, healthier lives:
1. The U.S. should continue to prioritize high-quality biomedical research that is innovative and impactful.
2. The NIH should continue to improve efficiency and transparency in its peer review process.
3. The NIH, in coordination with other federal agencies, should play a larger role in the translation of evidence into practice, including more funding for implementation research.
4. The NIH should continue to build and support the biomedical research workforce with funding and training opportunities.
5. Predictable, robust and sustained public investments in biomedical research should be a national priority.
Recent projections show that 61% of the U.S. population will have some type of cardiovascular disease by 2050. These projections also estimate that medical costs associated with CVD will triple. Public investment in disease prevention research has the potential to both reduce health care costs and help all of us live longer, healthier lives.
Full text of the presidential advisory is available here: Principles for the Future of Biomedical Research in the United States and Optimizing the National Institutes of Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association | Circulation.