09700SR0125 EnrolledLRB097 11148 RPM 52626 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 125

 
2    WHEREAS, Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common
3serious heart rhythm disorder and causes 15% of all strokes in
4the United States; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Atrial fibrillation affects more than 2.3 million
6Americans and is expected to more than double to 5.6 million
7Americans by 2050; and
 
8    WHEREAS, One in 4 people aged 40 years or older develop
9atrial fibrillation during their lifetime; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Atrial fibrillation causes the heart to beat
11irregularly or out of rhythm; as a result, people with AFib are
12nearly 5 times more likely to have a stroke than someone
13without the condition; in addition, AFib-related strokes are
14about twice as likely to be fatal and about twice as likely to
15be severely disabling than strokes that are not related to
16AFib; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Three out of 4 AFib-related strokes can be
18prevented, but many patients are not aware of their risk and do
19not take action to prevent stroke; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The estimated direct medical cost of stroke for

 

 

09700SR0125 Enrolled- 2 -LRB097 11148 RPM 52626 r

12007 was $25.2 billion; this includes hospital outpatient or
2office-based provider visits, hospital inpatient stays,
3emergency room visits, prescribed medicines, and home health;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, Appropriate stroke prevention in AFib can
6effectively reduce the overall financial burden of the illness
7within public programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Reducing the risk of stroke related to AFib may
9maintain self-sufficiency on the part of patients cared for
10within public programs; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
12ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois
13Department of Healthcare and Family Services in cooperation
14with the Department of Public Health to pursue the feasibility
15of assessing chronic disease management of stroke prevention in
16atrial fibrillation, using State or private resources, or both,
17where available, with the intent of identifying opportunities
18to reduce the financial and clinical burden of AFib-related
19strokes upon Illinois in public programs; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the Director of Healthcare and Family Services and
22to the Director of Public Health.