Declare Heart Defect Awareness Day

12-18, 2017, an annual awareness effort that helps educate the public about Congenital Heart Defects; and WHEREAS, Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) are those existing at birth; about 36,000 children born have some kind of defect of the heart, and about 1.8 million families in the United States are affected by CHD; and WHEREAS, With familiarity of the disorder, more diagnoses are being made of what was not long ago thought to be an extremely rare disorder and not repairable; and WHEREAS, CHD is among the most common birth defects, about nine out of every 1,000 infants born each year have a defect of the heart, and is the leading cause of defect-related deaths; and WHEREAS, Many children born with CHDs continue to die due to the severity of the defect, the heart defect not being detected in time, a lack of donor hearts, or failure of the use of medical intervention; and WHEREAS, CHD is being researched by numerous professionals, at least

35 defects are now recognized, in order to more accurately describe its origin, physical signs and symptoms and surgical options; however, the amount of funding for education, research, and support is small; and WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater public awareness of this serious health issue so that early diagnosis and intervention become a top priority, and more must be done to increase activity at the local, State and national levels to support and protect our youth, our most precious resource, as well as their families; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim February 14, 2017, as A Day for Hearts: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York.