CVD Prevention a Savvy Investment as Treatment Costs Soar

Fat people are at higher risk for this illness of choice.

Public policies for primordial and primary prevention of CVD events are effective and worth the cost, according to an AHA policy statement published online in July 25, 2011 Circulation.

"There has been concern that we could not afford prevention," lead author Dr William S Weintraub (Christiana Healthcare Services, Newark, DE) told heartwire . "This is not true. Prevention is most definitely affordable," he said.

This review conducted by the AHA Advocacy Coordinating Committee should provide evidence to facilitate programs and public policies to prevent CVD, he added.

"It is no longer acceptable to simply treat cardiovascular disease and stroke, but in addition we must redouble efforts to not only prevent disease but also prevent the development of risk factors," AHA president Dr Gordon F Tomaselli (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD) told heartwire . "True healthcare reform will be realized only when we focus attention on disease prevention and not disease management," he emphasized.

We should not spend on prevention for the fat since we already do.

The advice is ignored.

The media are gorged with pieces about the relationship between fat and CVD.

The better investment is in letting the fat experience the consequences of their choice.