In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Institutes of Health (NIH) leads the nation in the sponsorship of heart disease research. The chapters in this book, which are summarized in this introductory chapter, describe the economics of NHLBI’s support of heart disease research with a focus on the transfer into society of the scientific knowledge that has emanated from the Institute’s funded research projects. Examples of such research projects are included in this chapter.