A resolution designating the month of September 2009 as "National Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month" and encouraging efforts to educate the public about atrial fibrillation.

Whereas atrial fibrillation is a cardiac condition in which electrical pulses disrupt the regular beating of the atria in the heart, hampering the ability of the atria to fill the ventricles with blood, and subsequently causing blood to pool in the atria and form clots;

Whereas atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac malfunction and affects at least 2,200,000 people in the United States, with increased prevalence anticipated as the population of the United States ages;

Whereas atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased long-term risk of stroke, heart failure, and mortality from all causes, especially among women;

Whereas, according to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, atrial fibrillation accounts for approximately 1/3 of hospitalizations for cardiac rhythm disturbances;

Whereas, according to the American Heart Association, 3 to 5 percent of people in the United States who are 65 years of age and older are estimated to have atrial fibrillation;

Whereas, according to a study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, atrial fibrillation is recognized as a major contributor to strokes, with an estimated 15 to 20 percent of strokes occurring in people with atrial fibrillation;

Whereas the Journal of the American College of Cardiology estimates that the treatment of atrial fibrillation costs approximately $3,600 per patient annually, for a total cost burden in the United States of approximately $15,700,000,000;

Whereas obesity is a significant risk factor for atrial fibrillation;

Whereas better education for patients and health care providers is needed in order to ensure timely recognition of atrial fibrillation symptoms; and

Whereas more research into effective treatments for atrial fibrillation is needed: Now, therefore, be it