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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING FEBRUARY AS AMERICAN HEART MONTH AND DECLARING FEBRUARY 27TH, 2024 AS GO RED DAY IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, the month of February is recognized as American Heart Month; and
WHEREAS, the annual celebration began in 1963 to encourage Americans to join the battle against heart disease and each year a presidential proclamation pays tribute to researchers, physicians, public health professionals and volunteers for their tireless efforts in preventing, treating, and researching heart disease; and
WHEREAS, heart disease (including coronary heart disease, hypertension, and stroke) remains the No. 1 cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States and cardiovascular diseases claim more lives each year than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths; and
WHEREAS, heart disease is the leading cause of death in Cook County as well, accounting for 10,270 deaths in 2022 of that, 5,018 were in the City of Chicago and 5,252 were in suburban Cook County; and
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the estimated annual incidence of heart attack in the United States is 805,000 new attacks, 605,000 are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent attacks with Americans suffering a heart attack approximately every 33 seconds; and
WHEREAS, although some progress has been made, it's important to make sure all Americans have access to quality care and as a country we should continue to focus on “Life's Simple 7," which refers to the American Heart Association’s seven goals of eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, avoiding excess weight, not smoking, and keeping blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar within a healthy range; and
WHEREAS, although heart disease is the leading cause of death for all Americans, disparities exist with nearly half of all non-Hispanic black adults having some form of cardiovascular disease: 47 percent of females and 46 percent of males; and
WHEREAS, since the outbreak of COVID-19, there have been even higher mortality rates due to the effect the disease has had on individuals with pre-existing health conditions, primarily those which are cardiovascular-related. The American Heart Association found that the already sizable Black-White life-expectancy gap has now grown to over ten years due to COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, by 2035, more than 130 million adults, or 45.1% of the U.S. population, are projected to have some form of cardiovascular disease and total costs of CVD are expected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2035, with direct medical costs projected to reach $748.7 billion and indirect costs estimated to reach $368 billion; and
WHEREAS, hospitals and health systems around the country celebrate American Hearth Month by helping to raise awareness in their communities about heart disease, with staff wearing red and volunteers knitting or crocheting pintsized red hats for newborns, as well as holding free screenings and heart health awareness events; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners approved a resolution sponsored by Commissioner Donna Miller creating a CPR & AED training awareness campaign and expansion of training access as well as a resolution creating a virtual “hands only” CPR & AED training as part of the on-boarding process for new employees, which is available to all county employees providing the knowledge needed so we can eliminate one of the barriers to not being able to survive a heart attack; and
WHEREAS, one of the “Bystander Effect” statistics that is especially troubling is that African Americans and Hispanics are 30-50% less likely to have bystander CPR performed if they suffer an incident and compared to white children, bystander CPR was 41% less likely for black kids, 22% less likely for Hispanics and 6% less likely for other ethnic groups; and
WHEREAS, women are also less likely to receive bystander CPR because people fear accusations of inappropriate touching, sexual assault, or injuring the person, with only 39% of women receiving bystander CPR in public compared to 45% of men and men’s chances of surviving a cardiac event are 23% higher than women; and
WHEREAS, the American Heart Association is celebrating its Centennial in 2024 with “Bold Hearts” and a vision for advancing health and hope for everyone, everywhere with a renewed focus on CPR, and an urgent need to create a Nation of Lifesavers; and
WHEREAS, data shows that CPR initiated by a bystander can nearly double or triple the chance of survival from cardiac arrest; and
WHEREAS, a new survey conducted in 2023 by the American Heart Association suggests that increased visibility of the need for CPR has had a positive impact on someone’s willingness to respond if they are bystanders in a cardiac emergency; however, although 35% of respondents have the confidence to perform CPR when needed, an increase from 30% in 2021, only 39% of those surveyed are familiar with conventional CPR and only 23% with Hands-Only CPR and fewer than half of people suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receive the immediate CPR they need before professional help arrives; and
WHEREAS, approximately 90% of the 350,000 people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year will not survive; and
WHEREAS, this Honorable Body wishes to promote and raise awareness of American Heart Month and heart health in Cook County and encourage all Cook County employees to take advantage of the Virtual CPR & AED training available on the County Human Resources Training platform as well as the in-person training offered today in partnership with Illinois Heart Rescue;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the more than 5.2 million residents of Cook County, do hereby take this opportunity to acknowledge American Hearth Month and officially recognizes February 2024 as Heart Month in Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in conjunction with American Heart Month, February 27th 2024 be hereby declared “Go Red Day” in the County of Cook and encourages everyone to wear red on said day to create awareness of and in recognition of American Heart Month; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body in recognition of American Heart Month.
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