Many heart disease risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure could be treated early on, thus preventing various future types of heart disease from developing -- if only uninsured Americans had access to health care. Democratic Mass. Senator John Kerry proposed recently that by 2012, all Americans be required to have health insurance -- and that anyone who can't get themselves covered be aided by the government to make sure that they are.

An estimated 46 million Americans have no health insurance. For many low-income Americans, that means no access to health care due to the high cost. A potential 2008 presidential candidate, Kerry plans to give Americans access to the same quality of care available to members of Congress, lower employer costs and cover every child in this country. Where will the funds to provide national health care come from, you ask? There will be more than enough, Kerry proposes, by repealing President Bush's tax cuts for people earning more than $200,000 a year.

Almost half of the high death rate in blue-collar-working males can be contributed to smoking, according to a new study spanning five countries. Men in this socio-economic class also die prematurely twice as often as upper class men with professional level jobs and income. Smoking doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In the U.S., Canada, England, Wales and Poland, half of male deaths in the lowest economic bracket were smoking-related. Extensive smoking cessation in this social strata, made easier by the implementation of even higher taxes-- making smoking completely unaffordable for lower-income men, could effect a decline in the death rate disparity between socio-economic classes.

The psychological effects of poverty and low social stature, in addition to an increased prevalence of obesity and smoking in poor populations contribute greatly to health and mortality rates. A new British study finds the country's poorest are 10 times more likely to die in their 50's than the wealthy population-- even given equal access and quality of health care.

The poor are much more likely to suffer from an array of 17 chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure-- both of which lead to heart disease. Living alone is more common among the poor, the study found, and that twice as many poor people felt isolated compared to wealthy people. Feelings of isolation can lead to depression, which recent studies have explicitly linked to heart disease.