C. R. Bard Launches The Love Your Limbs™ Awareness Campaign And Urges The Public To "Take A Stand" Against Amputation

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MURRAY HILL, N.J., April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. (BPV), a subsidiary of C. R. Bard, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of medical device technologies used to assist doctors in performing life-saving peripheral vascular surgical procedures, announced today the launch of the Love Your Limbs™ Awareness Campaign, a new Bard-sponsored initiative intended to raise awareness of Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI), its precursor, Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), and limb amputation awareness and prevention. This multi-faceted campaign is a unique response to the needs of CLI patients and to the physicians challenged with treating these patients effectively.

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As part of the campaign, BPV launched a patient- and physician-focused educational site intended as a resource with information about the causes, symptoms and available treatments for CLI. The site, www.LoveYourLimbs.com, guides visitors through a multimedia experience that addresses questions and concerns commonly raised by those affected by PAD, CLI and amputation. This site also provides physicians with case studies, product videos, and information symposiums taking place throughout the United States.

Today, between 8 and 10 million people in the United States suffer from PAD, a common vascular disorder that impacts the flow of blood through an artery. It occurs when an artery narrows due to plaque buildup, restricting a limb's ability to receive oxygen through the blood. PAD can impact any blood vessel, but is most common in the pelvis and legs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 12 to 20 percent of individuals older than 60, and as many as one in three people over age 70, suffer from PAD in the United States. Men and women have equal risk for developing PAD, and some studies suggest that race may also be a risk factor. Smokers, as well as those who suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or obesity are also at high-risk for PAD. Signs of CLI include pain in the legs or feet when at rest or walking and foot ulcers.

"PAD and CLI are serious conditions that can lead to potentially life-threatening consequences," said Jihad Mustapha, M.D., Director of Endovascular Interventions and Cardiovascular Research at Metro Health Hospital in Wyoming, Michigan. "Early detection and proper treatment can help more patients avoid amputation. Programs such as the Love Your Limbs™ Campaign that stress education and awareness of all treatment options are critical to help reduce limb loss."

"The American Diabetes Association applauds Bard Peripheral Vascular in this important, national public awareness campaign," said Laura Landon, Executive Director, Arizona Area of the American Diabetes Association. "The importance of vascular health is not always understood by the general public so awareness programs, such as the Love Your Limbs™ Campaign, are helpful in educating patients and physicians so they can make informed treatment decisions."

In 2011, the National Amputation Prevention Coalition designated April as National Limb Loss Month. Approximately 220,000 to 240,000 lower extremity amputations occur each year in the U.S. and Europe alone. This means more than 10,000 patients and their families are impacted by amputations every month. Many of these patients will also face the possibility of additional amputations on the opposite limb.

Despite advanced interventional techniques to restore blood flow to the leg or foot, amputation continues to be a common course of treatment for patients with CLI. In fact, a retrospective data analysis involving 417 patients, who received an amputation between 1999 and 2001, revealed that 67 percent of those patients with CLI have a primary amputation as their first-line treatment and only 16 percent of patients ever received a diagnostic angiogram to determine if non-invasive percutaneous or other treatment options were viable.

"We are pleased to launch this initiative and increase the awareness of this very important issue," said Tim Ring, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of C. R. Bard, Inc. "Within one year of diagnosis of CLI, approximately 25 percent of patients receive a major amputation and another 25 percent may lose their life. Within 3 to 5 years of the first lower limb loss, more than one third of patients will likely have a second amputation on the opposite limb. We are hopeful that the Love Your Limbs™ Campaign will raise awareness of treatment options for PAD and CLI and will save more legs and more lives."

For more information on the Love Your Limbs^™ Campaign please visit www.loveyourlimbs.com.

C. R. Bard, Inc. (www.crbard.com), headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., is a leading multinational developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative, life-enhancing medical technologies in the fields of vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialty products.

SOURCE Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.