Sheryl Benjamin
Executive Director, Vascular Disease Foundation

In 1998, the term peripheral arterial disease (PAD) was not on most providers' radars, let alone the public's. Information was scarce, and patients were often told that there was not much that could be done for their claudication. A pioneer in small Doppler ultrasound systems, Dennis Newman, brought together a small cadre of physicians and lay people willing to further an idea: create an organization that would increase awareness and educate the public on vascular diseases so that complications such as amputation and death could be avoided. As Dennis had a cousin who suffered an amputation and subsequent death as a result of PAD and its complications, he had a strong, personal devotion to the cause.

That group, including William R. Hiatt, Alan T. Hirsch, Mark R. Nehler, Judith G. Regensteiner, and Robert B. Rutherford, launched the Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to create and disseminate educational information about vascular diseases. They wisely decided to focus on one disease first—PAD—and then expand as resources would permit. The VDF created a Web site (www.vdf.org) and informational brochures and launched the Keeping in Circulation® newsletter as initial public programs. The VDF also recruited key vascular professional societies to help. Together, the group successfully convinced the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health to allocate funding towards a national PAD awareness campaign. A coalition of 15 organizations formed to achieve consensus for development and dissemination of accurate, unified messages to promote PAD awareness and improved PAD care to all Americans at risk.1 A study was commissioned in 2006, which found that three out of four Americans are not familiar with PAD.2 The NHLBI agreed to fund a 3-year national public awareness campaign in partnership with the P.A.D. Coalition. The national campaign “Stay in Circulation: Take Steps to Learn about P.A.D.,” was launched in 2007.

Today, with the help of the P.A.D. Coalition's 80 member organizations serving over 1 million health care professionals, the term PAD is being spread through church congregations, senior centers, and women's groups; seen in magazines, buses, trains, and airports; and heard on nationwide radio stations. Resources for patients include handouts on all aspects of disease management, walking logs, videos, and interactive learning tools. PAD clinical practice tools such as wall charts and quick reference guides help put national PAD care guidelines into practice.

Next year, the P.A.D. Coalition will commission a 5-year follow-up study to see if together we have impacted PAD awareness and can claim some success for the millions that have the disease and are at increased risk for heart attack and stroke. It will be success we all can share.

  1. Hirsch, AT, et al. Mandate for creation of a national peripheral arterial disease public awareness program: an opportunity to improve cardiovascular health. J Vasc Surg. 2004;39:479.
  2. Hirsch AT, Murphy TP, Lovell MB, Twillman G, Treat-Jacobsen D, Harwood EM, Mohler ER, Creager MA, Hobson RW, Robertson R, Howard WJ, Criqui MH for the Peripheral Arterial Disease Coalition. Gaps in public knowledge of peripheral arterial disease: The first national PAD public awareness survey. Circulation. 2007;116:2086-2094.