Media

Press Release September 24

P.A.D. Coalition and CVS Caremark Join Forces to Educate Americans about Peripheral Arterial Disease: Partnership supports national “Stay in Circulation” campaign to improve the nation’s vascular health

The Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) Coalition and CVS Caremark today announced a joint effort to increase awareness of P.A.D., a common and dangerous vascular disease that affects approximately nine million Americans.

P.A.D. occurs when arteries in the legs become narrowed or clogged with fatty deposits, reducing blood flow to the legs. As a result, P.A.D. may cause leg muscle pain when walking and lead to disability, amputation and a poor quality of life. Blocked arteries in the legs are a powerful warning sign that other arteries, including those in the heart and brain, may also be blocked – increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

A recent P.A.D. Coalition study showed that three out of four Americans are unaware of P.A.D., and the few that have heard of P.A.D. actually know very little about the disease’s potential consequences. To increase P.A.D. awareness, the Coalition and CVS Caremark will launch the following activities during September’s National P.A.D. Awareness Month:

Educational resources about P.A.D. will be made available in CVS/pharmacy locations nationwide. Materials include a pharmacy counter stand and wallet card that provides P.A.D. information in a handy, fold-out format with questions to ask your health care provider and space to record important health numbers.
Information about the risk factors, warning signs and consequences of P.A.D. will be mailed to 25,000 high risk patients.
Tips and more information on P.A.D. are available at www.padcoalition.org.

“Peripheral arterial disease – or P.A.D. – is the most dangerous cardiovascular disease that most Americans have never heard of,” said Alan T. Hirsch, M.D., Chair of the P.A.D. Coalition, Professor of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and Director of the Vascular Medicine Program at the Minneapolis Heart Institute. “CVS Caremark recognizes the need to inform Americans about this devastating disease, and we commend their efforts to mobilize their stores and reach out to local communities to help save limbs and lives.”

“At CVS Caremark we believe our role in health care today is to proactively inform and engage consumers to take control of their health care,” said Marsha Moore, MD, Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs of CVS Caremark. “Our partnership with the P.A.D. Coalition is an excellent opportunity to reach out to high risk individuals to inform them about P.A.D., highlight their risk factors and educate them about their options.”

P.A.D. affects both women and men and can strike adults of any age. However, the risk of P.A.D. is increased in those over the age of 50, particularly in those who smoke or have smoked; have diabetes, high blood pressure, or abnormal cholesterol; are of African American ethnicity; or have a personal history of heart disease or stroke.

The P.A.D. Coalition – CVS Caremark partnership supports the national “Stay in Circulation: Take Steps to Learn about P.A.D.” campaign developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the Coalition. The campaign’s Web site (www.aboutpad.org) provides tools for consumers, community groups, medical professionals and health organizations to inform Americans about the risks, symptoms and treatment of P.A.D.

For more information on P.A.D., visit www.padcoalition.org or call 866.PAD.INFO (866.723.4636).

About the P.A.D. Coalition

The Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) Coalition is an alliance of leading health organizations, health professional societies, government agencies and corporations united to raise public and health professional awareness about lower extremity P.A.D. Established in 2004, the P.A.D. Coalition is coordinated by the Vascular Disease Foundation (www.vdf.org), a national, not-for-profit section 501(c)(3) organization. The P.A.D. Coalition seeks to improve the prevention, early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation of people with, or at risk for, P.A.D. The Coalition is supported by the following corporate partners: the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership; Cordis Endovascular, a division of Cordis Corporation; Abbott Vascular; AnGes, Inc.; AstraZeneca; Bard Peripheral Vascular; Baxter Healthcare; BioMedix; Cook, Inc; W.L. Gore & Associates; Medtronic; Novo Nordisk; Omron; Summit Doppler and Vermillion, Inc.

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