Venous Disease Coalition's Third Annual Meeting

Over 80 registered attendees, including 24 member organizations, participated in the third Annual Meeting of the Venous Disease Coalition (VDC) in Washington, D.C., on September 17, 2009.

Guest Speakers:
The meeting featured a special keynote speaker, Dr. Garth Graham, MD, MPH, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Director of the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. The Office of Minority Health develops and coordinates federal health policy that addresses minority health concerns and ensures that federal, state and local health programs take into account the needs of disadvantaged, racial and ethnic populations.

Dr. Graham spoke of the importance of continuing to amplify the Office of the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism, issued at the VDC Annual Meeting in 2008. He brought particular poignancy to his message, when he spoke of his personal story – his sister's death from pulmonary embolism at a young age.

Ms. Traci Wilkes Smith, Esq, spoke of her personal experience as a survivor of DVT and PE. At a young age, Ms. Wilkes Smith suffered from pain in her upper leg. After numerous trips to the emergency room and misdiagnoses about her condition, her doctors finally identified that a clot had traveled to her lungs. She is lucky to be alive today, and tells people to "wake up and pay attention to your body." She also urges everyone to become educated "about the warning signs of blood clots and be an advocate for yourself."

Scientific Presentations:
The meeting also featured new science in the field of venous disease. The inaugural 2009 Venous Disease Research Awards, celebrating important and novel research, were presented at the Vascular Disease Foundation's 2009 Awards Dinner the evening before the annual meeting. During the meeting, the award winners provided an overview of the published research and answered questions from the audience. Dr. Suresh Vedantham, MD, discussed the status of the ATTRACT Study – investigating whether catheterdirected thrombolysis or immediate clot removal speeds deep vein thrombosis symptom relief, saves vein valves, preserves open veins and prevents clinical post thrombotic syndrome.

Dr. Thomas Ortel, MD, PhD, provided an overview of the BRIDGE Trial – to compare the efficacy and safety of bridging with or using alternative methods of anticoagulation with placebo in patients who should stop anticoagulation when undergoing surgery or an invasive procedure.

Vascular Disease Foundation leaders participated in the 11th Annual Rocky Mountain Evidence-Based Workshop in Vail, Colorado, in July 2009. Dr. Suman Rathbun, MD, presented the workshop goals and planned outcomes to the meeting attendees using evidence-based medicine to translate science into informed public policy. Using the tools learned at the workshop, the VDC plans to publish a manuscript about the prevalence of venous disease in the United States, and use the information to translate venous public health needs into health practice.

Awards Presented:
At the meeting, the Coalition presented the Research Awards for papers published in 2008 to honor the work of investigators and acknowledge the creation of new clinical research relevant to the understanding and/or treatment of PAD.

The 2009 Venous Disease Research Award Winners: Basic Science: Deep Vein Thrombosis Resolution Is Impaired in Diet-Induced Type 2 Diabetic Mice, Fatiha Bouzeghrane, PhD, et al.

Clinical Outcomes: A Randomized Trial of Rosuvastatin in the Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism, Robert J. Glynn, ScD, et al.

Quality Improvement and Implementation of Best Practices: Optimizing Prevention of Hospital-Acquired (HA) Venous Thromboembolism (VTE): Prospective Validation of a VTE Risk Assessment Model (RAM), Gregory A. Maynard, MD, MS, et al.

Centers for Disease Control Grant
The Venous Disease Coalition announced the new grant awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote the health of people with clotting disorders. The five-year cooperative agreement will involve development, implementation and evaluation of a public education program directed to women who suffer from venous thromboembolism. The Coalition will work with member organizations to develop, test and distribute the program.

Building a Stronger Coalition
Members discussed ways to create a stronger coalition that can have greater impact. A presentation by Deb Snyder and Kara Briseno of the Spirit of Women, shared how they worked with the Coalition to create programs and materials for their 435 health-care facilities to engage over 20,000 physicians and 40,000 nurses and nurse practitioners to improve venous disease care. Spirit of Women is a national program for hospitals and health-care facilities and providers to advance women's vascular and cardiovascular health. The Spirit of Women has been a member of the VDC and Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition (P.A.D. Coalition) for several years.