About VDF

Established in 1998 the Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) is the only multidisciplinary national public 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on vascular diseases with the sole purpose of providing public education and improving awareness about vascular diseases. The mission of the VDF is:

To reduce death and disability from vascular diseases and

improve vascular health for all Americans.

Initiatives and Accomplishments:

• Since 2000, through its newsletters, Web site, brochures, fliers, meetings, and television and radio public service announcements, the VDF has served over 13,620,000 individuals in 30 states and Canada.

•  VDF provides resources to the public that are reviewed by multidisciplinary teams to ensure the information is accurate and trustworthy. This ensures no professional bias, no treatment bias, and no commercial bias so the public receives science-based information and data to make health care decisions.

• VDF championed an effort to form the national P.A.D. Coalition. The Vascular Disease Foundation realized that by joining all vascular focused organizations, we could make vascular disease become known. Bringing together 15 organizations initially, this effort has resulted in getting a commitment from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, of the National Institutes of Health, to fund a three year, two million dollar campaign to increase public with the "Stay in Circulation: Take Steps to Learn about P.A.D." campaign.  This campaign launched in the fall of 2006. The P.A.D. Coalition currently has over 51 major national public health organizations and professional vascular societies and will produce a professional awareness and educational campaign to dovetail with the public campaign.

• VDF has published “Keeping in Circulation” since 2000, a quarterly publication widely read by both patients and medical professionals. It has the largest circulation of any vascular newsletter or journal, professional or public and it is estimated that each issue of the newsletter receives 50,000 impressions. Articles are written by medical experts for the lay public, filling a need for patient information that is often difficult to find. Subscriptions are available to anyone at no charge.

• Along with public members, organizations that provide representatives to serve on the VDF Board of Directors are:

                            American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

                            American College of Cardiology

                            American Heart Association

                            American Venous Forum

                            Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery

                            Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology

                            Society for Vascular Nursing

                            Society for Vascular Surgery

                            Society for Vascular Ultrasound

                            Society of Interventional Radiology

• Patient Information Publications. VDF provides free patient education materials to help patients understand vascular disease, risks, prevention, diagnosis and treatments.  Our fliers and color brochures serve as valuable tools for physicians and patients—distributed in waiting rooms, clinics, and health fairs. Topics include: Increasing Public Awareness about Vascular Disease, PAD increases your risk for Heart Attack and Stroke, Focus on Blood Clots, and Focus on Varicose Veins.

• Our Web site is currently visited by approximately 22,000-24,000 people per month. The medical information offered on our site is written and approved by top medical professionals in the vascular field. We offer the only Web site geared specifically towards vascular patients and their families and strive to make all the medical terminology user-friendly and readily accessible.

• Resources are provided at public and professional meetings and at health screenings and other venues to increase visibility and promote VDF as the first place for obtaining patient resources on vascular disease. Resources are provided to national efforts including Legs For Life and the Society for Vascular Surgery’s American Vascular Association screenings.

• Since 2001, VDF has been presenting an awareness campaign in the Denver metro area on peripheral arterial disease. “Keeping in Circulation at the Gardens” is VDF’s Colorado PAD Awareness Campaign which serves an unmet need within Colorado. After five years, we have screened and provided information to over 530 persons, with about 10 percent having indication of disease.

We are constantly developing educational information for both patients, families, friends, and health care providers on the often ignored, but serious vascular diseases. Contact us for more information.