In this speech Koop recognized the nearly 15 percent of Americans who were limited in their daily activities by one or more chronic diseases or impairments in 1980, among them the members of the Society of Handicapped Physicians. This percentage was likely to rise further as the U.S. population aged and as advances in medicine helped an increasing number of patients to survive heart disease, stroke, and other life-threatening conditions that left them disabled. Koop discussed the medical, psychological, and financial challenges presented by the long-term rise in the incident of disability among Americans.
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