On March 1, the sequester cuts went into effect. As a result, the NIH’s budget was slashed by 5.1 percent. This dramatic decrease is likely to trigger a loss of more than 20,500 jobs across the United States and reduce new economic activity by $3 billion. But more importantly, it will mean fewer life-saving treatments and cures for Americans with cardiovascular disease. Heart attacks and strokes were once virtual death sentences. But since 1940, research has reduced the death rate from heart disease by more than 60 percent and from stroke by 70 percent.

We can only continue this remarkable progress if we urge Congress to restore the NIH funding cut by sequestration. That's why the American Heart Association was proud to be one of the more than 200 organizations that participated in the Rally for Medical Research in Washington D.C. on April 8, 2013. During this event more than 200 of our volunteers joined forces with patients, researchers, and government officials to call on Congress and the administration to make NIH-funded research a national priority.