A coalition of the nation's leading medical organizations, advocacy groups, and government agencies will come together August 3-4 to explore a broad, coordinated national approach to promoting peripheral vascular health awareness and education. Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is an under-diagnosed and under-treated condition that affects over 10 million Americans.

The objective of the Summit is to develop a framework for a collaborative approach towards providing public education, public awareness, and improved detection for peripheral vascular disease, including abdominal aneurysm and stroke.

Outcomes of the meeting may include a strategy that contains the following elements:

* Focus on screening and public health awareness as main components of the effort

* Retain a broad message about cardiovascular health with a focus on peripheral vascular health

* Include all major vascular societies and medical specialties representing health care professionals who diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease, organizations representing patients at risk, private philanthropies, nonprofit and public entities, and all parties having an express interest in the field.

"We recognize the positive impact that a coordinated effort would have on public health care," says Peter T. Beatty, M.D., interventional radiologist. "PVD affects over 10 million people in the United States. Early detection is important because people who have it are at significantly increased risk of life-threatening heart attack, stroke and abdominal aneurysm."

Participating Organizations:
American Association for Vascular Surgery * American College of Cardiology * American Diabetes Association * American Heart Association * American Podiatric Medical Association * American Radiological Nurses Association * American Society of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology * American Vascular Association * National Institutes of Health * Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society * Society of Interventional Radiology * Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology * Society for Vascular Nursing * Society for Vascular Surgery * U.S. Department of Health and Human Services * Vascular Disease Foundation

About Peripheral Vascular Disease
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is a common circulation problem in which the arteries that carry blood to the legs or arms become narrowed or clogged. This interferes with the normal flow of blood, sometimes causing pain but often causing no symptoms at all. The most common cause of PVD is atherosclerosis, often called "hardening of the arteries." Atherosclerosis is a gradual process in which cholesterol and scar tissue build up, forming a substance called "plaque" that clogs the blood vessels. In some cases, PVD may be caused by blood clots that lodge in the arteries and restrict blood flow.

PVD affects over 10 million people in the United States. Early detection is important because people who have it are at significantly increased risk of life-threatening heart attack, stroke and abdominal aneurysm. More than half the people with PVD experience leg pain, numbness or other symptoms -- but many people dismiss these signs as "a normal part of aging" and don't seek medical help. Only about half of those with symptoms have been diagnosed with PVD and are seeing a doctor for treatment.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology
The Society of Interventional Radiology represents interventional radiologists -- physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments performed using imaging guidance. Interventional radiology procedures are a major advance in medicine that do not require large incisions, and offer less risk, less pain and shorter recovery times compared to surgery. Interventional radiology advances include the pioneering of angioplasty, the peripheral stenting technique, and the invention of the first catheter-delivered stent -- state of the art vascular treatments that are common place today.