Bard Launches CLI Awareness Campaign for National Limb Loss Month

April 1, 2013—In recognition of National Limb Loss Month in April, Bard Peripheral Vascular (Tempe, AZ) announced the launch of the Love Your Limbs campaign to raise public awareness about peripheral arterial disease (PAD), chronic limb ischemia (CLI), and the risk for amputation.

According to Bard, a retrospective data analysis involving 417 patients who received an amputation between 1999 and 2001 revealed that 67% of those CLI patients had a primary amputation as their first-line treatment and only 16% of patients ever received a diagnostic angiogram to determine if noninvasive percutaneous or other treatment options were viable.

The company noted that approximately 220,000 to 240,000 lower-extremity amputations occur each year in the United States and Europe. Many of these patients will also face the possibility of additional amputations on the opposite limb.

Bard stated that the Love Your Limbs campaign is a response to the challenge faced by physicians and, most importantly, by CLI patients. Through aggressive education and promotion of PAD, CLI, and amputation awareness, Love Your Limbs seeks to help physicians and patients reduce the risk of amputation. Patient and physician education and resources can be found at the campaign's website, www.LoveYourLimbs.com.