Our Policy Positions

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Each year, the American Heart Association (AHA) produces scientific statements and guidelines based on expert consensus in order to promote our mission to be a relentless force for longer, healthier lives. Our advocacy department works with leading experts around the world to translate these science-based documents into policy statements and policy advocacy materials that position the AHA on issues that will impact cardiovascular health and mortality, guide our advocacy work at all levels of government, allow us to support the important work of others, and inform policy makers, practitioners, health care professionals, researchers, the media and the public

To be added to the Policy Research email database and to stay up-to-date on our latest policy positions, please email [email protected].

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Resources
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Policy Positions

Access to Healthy Food

Food Sustainability and Farm Bill (PDF)

Strategies to Address Socioeconomic and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Chronic Diseases by Incorporating Food and Nutrition Programs into the Primary Healthcare Setting (PDF)

Expanding Access to Healthy Food for Medicaid Beneficiaries (PDF)

Farm Bill Policy and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (2017) (PDF)

Environmental Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals & the Impact on Obesity and CVD (PDF)

 

Nutrition

Food Package and Retail Shelf Icon System (PDF)

Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity and Smoking Habits (LINK)

Healthy Food Financing (PDF)

Menu Labeling (PDF)

Trans Fat (PDF)

Strengthening US Food Policies and Programs to Promote Equity in Nutrition Security (LINK)

 

Sugary Beverages & Healthy Hydration

Historical Analysis: Structural Racism and Sugary Drinks (PDF)

Historical Analysis: Structural Racism and Water Access (PDF)

Increasing Access to Safe Drinking Water Across Different Settings (PDF)

Sugar-sweetened Beverage Taxation (PDF)

AHA Tiered Tax Policy in Brief (PDF)

SSB Tax Report Appendices A-C (PDF)

Tiered Sugary Drink Tax Revenue Calculations Brief (PDF)

Distribution of Sugar Content in Sugary Drink Purchases in the US: Implications for Tiered Taxation (PDF)

Warning Labels on Sugary Drinks (PDF)

  

Sodium Reduction

Reducing Sodium Intake in Children: A Public Health Investment (LINK)

Reduction of Sodium in Diets and in the Food Supply (LINK)

 
rehab

Resources
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patient having blood pressure checked
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Resources

Fact Sheets

Air Pollution and CVD (PDF)

Air Quality (PDF)

 

 

 

See Also: Tobacco Endgame
Access to Care

Policy Positions

Clinical Care

Public Policy Considerations of Novel Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Blood-based Biomarkers (PDF)

Call to Action to Prevent Venous Thromboembolism in Hospitalized Patients: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association (LINK)

Coronary Artery Calcium Screening (PDF)

Evolution of The Guideline Advantage: Lessons Learned From the Front Lines of Outpatient Performance Measurement (LINK)

AHA's Recommendations for Expanding the Applications of Existing and Future Clinical Registries (LINK)

Principles for Comparative Effectiveness Research (LINK)

Pre-Participation Screening of Young Competitive Athletes (PDF)

 

Genetic Counseling

Genetic Counselors: Improving Access to Their Services for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease and Their Families (PDF)

Genetics and Cardiovascular Disease (LINK)
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Resources
woman on couch participating in telehealth appointment with doctor on phone

Resources
CDC Prevention

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Global Life Saving Programs

Resources
three children at a table smiling and eating healthy food
workplace lesson with people in hard hats and teacher at white board

Policy Positions

Workplace Wellness

Historical Summary of American Heart Association Published Positions on Worksite Wellness/Employee Health Management (PDF)

 

Food and Beverage in the Workplace

Food and Beverage Environment in the Workplace (LINK)

 

Tobacco and Nicotine in the Workplace

Guidance to Employers on Integrating E-cigarettes/Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems into Tobacco Worksite Policy (LINK)

 

Employer Sponsored Wellness Programs

The Role of Worksite Health Screening (LINK)

Guidance for a Reasonably Designed Employer Sponsored Wellness Program (LINK)

Outcome-based Incentives for Worksite Wellness Programs (LINK)

Speaking with One Voice on Worksite Wellness: The American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association (LINK)

Worksite Wellness Programs for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention (LINK)

Resources
female researcher looking into a microscope
female doctor talking to patient
man hands holding pills
patient receiving PAD therapy on leg
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Policy Positions

Physical Activity

Policy Levers to Improve Physical Education, Youth Physical Activity and Social and Emotional Learning (PDF)

The Importance of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in the United States: The Need For A National Registry (LINK)

National Physical Activity Plan A Call to Action by the AHA (LINK)

Physical Activity Guidelines Rationale for Regular Updates (PDF)

 

Physical Activity for Youth

Increasing and Improving Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools (PDF)

Obesity Prevention and Health Promotion Child Care Settings (PDF)

Promoting Physical Activity Through School Facilities (LINK)

 

Active Transportation

Emerging Active Transportation Policies That Promote Equitable, Safe Mobility (PDF)

Creating Built Environments That Expand Active Transportation and Active Living Across the United States (PDF)

Active Transportation (PDF)
Woman in red shirt holding a megaphone

Resources
landscape image of the US Capitol building

Policy Positions

Civic Engagement

Civic Engagement and Population Health (PDF)

 

Nonprofit Advocacy

Evidence-based Policy Making for Public Health Interventions in Cardiovascular Diseases: Formally Assessing the Feasibility of Clinical Trials (LINK)

Nonprofit Advocacy at the American Heart Association: Creating a Visionary Way Forward at Our 40th Anniversary (LINK)

American Heart Association and Nonprofit Advocacy: Past, Present and Future (LINK)

 

Policy Implementation

Policy Implementation and Outcome Evaluation: Establishing a Framework and Expanding Capacity for Advocacy Organizations to Assess the Impact of Their Work in Public Policy (LINK)

 

Public Health Interventions 

Critical Support Needed to Strengthen Public Health Infrastructure in the United States - Executive Summary (PDF)

Positioning on COVID-19 Vaccine (PDF)

Recommendations for Cardiovascular Health and Disease Surveillance for 2030 and Beyond (LINK)

State CV Health Programs: A Guide to Core Infrastructure, Activities, and Resources (PDF)

Healthy Lifestyle Interventions to Combat Noncommunicable Disease (LINK)

Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity and Smoking Habits (LINK)

The Value of Primordial and Primary Prevention for CVD (LINK)

AHA Principles for Comparative Effectiveness Research (LINK)

Non-Financial Incentives for Quality (LINK)

 

 
young man looking out the window of a bus

Policy Positions

Addressing Structural Racism

Addressing Structural Racism Through Public Policy Advocacy (LINK)

Addressing Structural Racism Through Public Policy - Executive Summary (PDF)

 

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) Policy Statement (PDF)

Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences and Referral Pathways (PDF)

Mitigating the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences by Strengthening Income Support for Families (PDF)

 

Housing and Cardiovascular Health

Healthy Neighborhoods and Access (PDF)

Housing Access Affordability and Discrimination (PDF)

Housing and Cardiovascular Health (PDF)

 

Rural Health

Call to Action: Rural Health - A Presidential Advisory from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association (LINK)

Executive Summary: Call to Action: Rural Health (PDF)

Rural Health Policy Guidance (PDF)

 

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PDF)

 

 
woman with red hair sitting on couch with hand to head

Policy Positions

Comprehensive Stroke Centers: A Consensus Statement from the Brain Attack Coalition (LINK)

Forecasting the Future of Stroke in the United States (LINK)

What the Million Hearts Initiative Means for Stroke (LINK)

Risk Adjustment for Stroke Outcome Measures to Ensure Quality of Care (LINK)

 

Stroke Systems of Care

Recommendations for the Establishment of Stroke Systems of Care - a 2019 Update (LINK)

Establishment of Stroke Systems of Care (LINK)

Interactions Within Stroke Systems of Care (LINK)

Recommendations for Regional Stroke Destination Plans in Rural, Suburban, and Urban Communities From the Prehospital Stroke System of Care Consensus Conference: A Consensus Statement (LINK)

Implementation Strategies for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) within Stroke Systems of Care (LINK)

 

Telehealth

Implementation of Telemedicine within Stroke Systems of Care (LINK)

Recommendations for the Implementation of Telehealth in Cardiovascular and Stroke Care (LINK)

Telestroke: Improving Access to Quality Stroke Care (PDF)
vape with smoke

Policy Positions

Tobacco Endgame

Tobacco Surcharge: Updated Policy Statement (PDF)

Tobacco Retail Strategies Executive Summary (PDF)

Tobacco Retail Licensure Environmental Scan Analysis of 50 United States (PDF)

New and Emerging Tobacco Products and the Nicotine Endgame (LINK)

The 50th Anniversary of the US Surgeon Generals Report on Tobacco (LINK)

The Impact of Smokeless Tobacco Products on Cardiovascular Diseases (LINK)

Eliminating the Sale of Tobacco Products in Pharmacies (PDF)

 

E-Cigarettes

E-Cigarettes: A Policy Statement from the American Heart Association (LINK)

 

Clean Air

Clean Indoor Air Laws and the Impact on Cardiovascular Disease (PDF)

Smoke-Free Policies in Multi-Unit Housing (PDF)

Guidance to Reduce the Cardiovascular Burden of Ambient Air Pollutants (LINK)

 

Cannabis

Cannabis - Updated Policy Guidance (PDF)

Marijuana Policy Supplement (PDF)
doctor holding patient hands with red heart and stethoscope

AHA positioning on “value-based care”

The American Heart Association supports a health care system that is person-centered, focuses on improving individual and population level experience and health outcomes, promotes health equity, and rewards our health care workforce for how well they do versus the number of billable services regardless of outcomes. Read the AHA publications addressing the need for health care delivery and payment reform and to move away from traditional fee for service. Value-based care (or person-first care) offers to opportunity to improve our health care system. As value-based care grows and evolves it is essential that organizations like AHA are engaged to ensure the changes are truly person-centered and ensure that everyone has access to high-value, whole person-centered care that is affordable.
Learn more about AHA's positioning on value-based care