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Show HEART DISEASE IS REPORTED TO RE NO. 1 KILLER Until 1944, only about $120,000 a year was spent in the U. S. on heart disease research approximately approxi-mately 21 cents for each person who died of it. Ey comparison, $6.12 was spent for each death due to infectious disease, $2.98 for each cancer fatality. Yet heart disease was, and still is, the greatest great-est killer in the U. S., it is reported. re-ported. In 1945, 148 life insurance companies com-panies which frankly admit a financial interest in saving lives decided to contribute $600,000 a year, through 1950 at least, for heart research. Today plans are being made by the American Heart Association for the first National Heart Week, to begin Feb. 8 and end, symbolically, on Valentine's Day. Backers hope the resultant publicity pub-licity will do for the heart what the March-of-Dimes did for infantile infan-tile paralysis (i.e., raise $18,000,-000 $18,000,-000 this year) and what Christmas Seals did for tuberculosis ($15,000,-000). |