P.A.D. Coalition Reaches Out to Women During Heart Month

This year, the P.A.D. Coalition worked to inform women about peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and its link with heart disease, and the public's lack of awareness of the disease.

While about 4.5 million American women have PAD, a recent P.A.D. Coalition study showed that only 28 percent of American women are aware of the disease. The cross-sectional, population-based telephone survey of 2,501 adults over age 50, included 1,338 women. The majority of women surveyed reported having at least one risk factor for PAD, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, diabetes, and history of smoking. Women who reported familiarity with PAD actually knew very little about the disease's potential consequences. Only 27 percent of women who reported to be aware of PAD associated the disease with an increased risk of heart attack.

During February, the Coalition issued a news release to disseminate these survey findings. In addition, Coalition spokespeople Alan Hirsch, MD, Diane Treat-Jacobson, PhD, RN, and Michael Criqui, MD, participated in a radio media tour to help inform the American public about PAD.

Twelve interviews were held with top radio networks, including CBS Radio, CNN Radio, and the American Radio Urban Network, as well as individual stations in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, San Diego, and Washington, DC. Approximately 2,390 radio stations aired these interviews to an estimated audience of 20 million listeners.