The ACC recently submitted appropriations requests for increased cardiovascular disease research and prevention funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Similar to requests in previous years, the College aligns with the American Heart Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Pediatric Congenital Heart Association in calling for increased funding for heart and stroke programs, tobacco cessation and prevention and congenital heart disease research.

Notably, ACC's Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) request for WISEWOMAN, a healthy lifestyle program providing qualifying women with free screenings and counseling about heart disease and stroke risk, is substantially higher than the College's FY19 request. WISEWOMAN is currently available in only 21 states, but the requested funding amount has been determined sufficient to provide these services in all 50 states.

“ACC envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes,” said ACC President Richard J. Kovacs, MD, FACC, in written testimony submitted April 8 to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services. “Stable funding for research, surveillance and healthy lifestyle promotion will not only save lives, but save health care costs in the long term. Medical research nurtures economic growth by creating jobs and new technologies, which will produce billions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid savings over the next decade.”

The full list of ACC's FY20 requests can be found below. All included programs have long been championed by the National Coalition for Heart and Stroke Research and closely align with ACC's mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health.

	2019	2020 Request
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)	$3.4 billion	$3.71 billion
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)	$2.2 billion	$2.36 billion
CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention	$140 million	$160 million
CDC Million Hearts	$4 million	$5 million
CDC WISEWOMAN	$21.12 million	$45.6 million
CDC Office on Smoking and Health	$210 million	$310 million
CDC Congenital Heart Disease Research	$4 million	$10 million

Keywords: Tobacco, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U.S.), Tobacco Use Cessation, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.), American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Smoking, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S., Heart Diseases, Stroke

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