Do your legs hurt when
you walk or exercise? George Washington Hospital to offer free
Screenings for Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) on September 13,
2005
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The George Washington University
Hospital is offering free "Legs for Life" PVD screenings on
September 13. Screenings will be held from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the hospital’s lower level conference rooms.
People 55 years of age or older can schedule their FREE PVD
screening today by calling 1-888-4GW-DOCS. The screening is
painless, noninvasive and needle-free.
Leg and arm pain, cramping, and intense "charlie-horses."
These symptoms do not just describe feelings of general discomfort.
Rather, they may signal the presence of a serious disease. A disease
so serious that it has been regarded by Anthony Venbrux MD, Director
of Interventional Radiology at GW Hospital, as "the silent
crippler."
PVD is the progressive destruction of normal blood vessels,
generally in the arms or legs. Simply, it is a hardening of the
arteries that leads to problems with blood circulation. This
discomfort varies in severity from intense pain when one walks fast
or up an incline to cramping pain when simply walking. Symptoms
include cold feet and/or legs, numbness and tingling in the feet
and/or legs, pain in legs while moving and ulcers or sores on the
feet and/or legs that won't heal. The majority of blockages occur in
the lower region of the body.
While the disease is in part a result of genetics, there are
several risk factors associated with PVD, diabetes in particular.
Other major risk factors are smoking, obesity, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol and hypertension. PVD cases may be more prevalent
among the African American population since hypertension and
diabetes, two major risk factors, are common among African
Americans. Peripheral Vascular Disease affects anywhere from eight
to ten million Americans, and as the American population ages, the
number of those suffering from PVD is only continuing to grow.
"PVD is a red flag for potential serious heart or cerebral
vascular disease. And as we know, the number one killer in the
United States is cardiac disease and the number three killer is
stroke, both of which are caused by problems in the vascular
system," says Dr. Venbrux.
People 55 years of age or older can schedule their FREE PVD
screening today by calling 1-888-4GW-DOCS. The screening is
painless, noninvasive and needle-free.
Now,
keep up to date with daily feeds of newly posted stories about America's
Seniors...click on the box to the left