Thanks to efforts of members of the American Heart Association's scientific councils, Congress established the National Heart Institute in June 1948. It became the National Heart and Lung Institute in 1969 and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in 1976. It's one of 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health. The NHLBI goals are to 1) prevent, diagnose, treat and cure heart and blood vessel and lung and blood diseases, and sleep disorders and 2) provide a safe and adequate blood supply for the nation.

The NHLBI provides funding for scientific research, including research to determine heart disease risk factors. It also supports educational efforts to teach the public about the risk factors.