SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Investment in medical research by government, voluntary health agencies, and private philanthropy has risen steadily in the past 15 years. In no area have contributions or results been more striking than in the cardiovascular field. During this interval nearly $640 million have been spent by the Public Health Service, and $90 million by the American Heart Association on cardiovascular research and research training. The death rate from heart and kidney disease has undergone notable reduction over the same period, falling from 440 per 100,000 population in 1950 to 387 per 100,000 in 1962. The rate of death from rheumatic heart disease continues to decline, and that from hypertensive disease and vascular lesions affecting the central nervous system has fallen to nearly half the rates for 1950. However, the total number of deaths from cardiovascular and renal disease rose from 769,751 in 1950 to 993,000 in 1963, reflecting the increase and