LAKEWOOD, Colo., Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To help educate patients with, or at risk for, peripheral artery disease or "PAD," the Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) has launched two new public service announcements (PSAs) on PAD symptoms, risk factors and treatment options.
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These new PSAs feature Michael R. Jaff, D.O., medical director of the Vascular Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, alerting patients to the dangers of PAD, which increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, leg amputation or even death.
PAD occurs when arteries in the legs become narrowed or clogged with fatty deposits, reducing blood flow to the legs. This can result in leg muscle pain when walking, disability, amputation, and poor quality of life. Blocked arteries found in people with PAD can be a red flag that other arteries, including those in the heart and brain, may also be blocked – increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
While everyone over the age of 50 is at risk for PAD, the risk increases if a person:
- Smokes, or used to smoke
- Has diabetes
- Has high blood pressure
- Has abnormal blood cholesterol
- Is African American
- Has a personal history of coronary heart disease or stroke
A devastating disease that is often undiagnosed, many with the disease do not even know they have it. That's because often PAD causes no recognizable symptoms. However, people with PAD may have one or more symptoms such as fatigue, heaviness, tiredness or cramping in the leg muscles (calf, thigh or buttocks) that occurs during activity such as walking and goes away with rest; foot or toe pain at rest that often disturbs sleep; skin wounds or ulcers on the feet or toes that are slow to heal.
These free PSAs can be found on VDF's You Tube Channel: VascularDiseaseFdn. Development of these PSAs was supported by Unetixs Vascular/Cardiac Science.
About The Vascular Disease Foundation
The Colorado-based Vascular Disease Foundation is the only national non-profit organization with the sole purpose of educating the public about vascular diseases. It is the most trusted source of credible, scientific and non-biased information on vascular diseases. For more information, call (888) VDF-4INFO or (888) 833-4463 or visit our Web site at www.vdf.org/
SOURCE Vascular Disease Foundation
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