In The News

VDF Calls for National PAD Public Awareness Program
In February, an article was published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery calling for the creation of a national public awareness program to focus on PAD to improve public health. This article was written on behalf of the Foundation by several members of its board of directors, including Dr. Alan T. Hirsch, Dr. Peter Gloviczki, Dr. Alain Drooz, Marge Lovell and Dr. Mark A. Creager.

The article is also being co-published in several other professional journals including the Journal of Vascular Nursing, Journal of Radiology Nursing, Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Vascular Medicine and International Angiology. Co-publication of the article is intended to serve the memberships of those societies that support the VDF mission, as well as its allied public health advocacy organizations that support the goals of a PAD awareness program.

The authors review the laudable mission of the national "Healthy People 2010" program, which provides a congressional mandate for national cardiovascular health, as promoted by the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. These well-known programs—such as the National High Blood Pressure Education Program, the National Cholesterol Education Program, and Women's Heart Health Education Initiative —have each achieved a large positive impact on national heart disease awareness and demonstrated clear progress toward achieving measurable health goals.

VDF's manuscript calls for creation of a comparable national PAD public awareness campaign, ideally linked to health provider educational efforts. This success would serve as an excellent template for other efforts to improve the long-term vascular health of the American public. From this concept, we imagine creating a world in which knowledge about PAD risk factors, prompt diagnosis, and access to effective treatments might lead to fewer heart attacks, fewer strokes, less disability, fewer amputations, and improved community health. (Read the article posted on our web site at www.vdf.org)

Free Screenings
On May 14th, the American Vascular Association will conduct its third annual public screening for vascular disease including PAD, AAA and carotid artery disease. To find the location of a site near you, call 1-410-553-6008 or 1-877-AVA-2010.

Upcoming Meetings
VDF staff will be attending several professional meetings in the coming months which provide the Foundation with opportunities to introduce our goals, mission and publications to professionals involved in the everyday care of people with vascular diseases. Meetings we will be attending include: The American College of Cardiology, Society for Interventional Radiology, Society for Vascular Nursing, American College of Physicians, Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology and the Society for Vascular Surgery. For the American College of Physicians meeting, VDF was invited to develop a workshop to help teach primary care physicians how to perform ankle-brachial index tests used to test for peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

PAD on PBS
The TV Series "Healthy Body, Healthy Mind" recently produced an excellent program called "Peripheral Arterial Disease: Poor Blood Flow." It ran on numerous PBS stations across the country during February and March. If you missed the show, or would like to order a VHS copy of the program, please call the show producers at 800-463-6488. The cost per tape is $19.95 plus $5.00 for shipping & handling.