PAD Task Force Urges Passage of ARC Act for Amputation Prevention

December 1, 2020—The CardioVascular Coalition (CVC) announced the publication of an opinion editorial in The Hill calling for lawmakers to support peripheral artery disease (PAD) testing and education to prevent amputations.

The editorial was written by representatives from the organizations that compose the PAD Task Force: Jeffrey Carr, MD, board member of CVC; Joaquin Cigarroa, MD, Cochair of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Government Relations Committee; Lola Coke, PhD, board member of the Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses Association; Michael D. Dake, MD, President of the Society of Interventional Radiology; and Lee Kirksey MD, Cochair for the Association of Black Cardiologists PAD Initiative.

CVC and the PAD Task Force are urging members of Congress to support the Amputation Reduction and Compassion (ARC) Act (H.R. 8615), which was announced on October 26 by United States Representative Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ). The ARC Act seeks to reduce amputations and close the racial disparities gap in PAD by increasing screening and education.

The editorial in The Hill, a newspaper and website focused on reporting news related to the United States Congress, states, “By focusing on what we know about PAD and the communities most at-risk, we’re already well on our way to stopping unnecessary amputations. But we can’t get there without the support of lawmakers and sound health care policies that encourage prevention and treatment.

“Fortunately, we have the commitment of the bipartisan Congressional PAD Caucus who want to see amputations become an absolute last resort—after all other prevention and treatment options have been tried and exhausted.”

The editorial continues, “We are fortunate to live in a society where patients can survive the traumatic impact of an amputation. But we simply shouldn’t accept amputation as an acceptable outcome of a condition like PAD when so many other less invasive, less expensive, and less life-altering options are easily available. We urge lawmakers to support the ARC Act so that we may stop normalizing amputation as the end result of PAD.”

In a November 24 announcement, CVC noted that the initiative to support ARC coincided with its recognition and support of American Diabetes Month, which is observed and promoted annually in November by the American Diabetes Association.

In the same announcement, CVC further summarized the ARC Act, explaining that it calls for Medicare and Medicaid coverage to include PAD screening tests and policies to prevent medical providers from being reimbursed for amputation procedures without first completing arterial testing. The ARC Act would also establish educational initiatives that inform health care professionals and the public about PAD and the importance of early detection.

CVC noted that, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34.2 million Americans have diabetes and 88 million Americans are prediabetic. The CVC also shared the following:

• PAD is responsible for > 80% of nontraumatic lower limb amputations in the United States each year, many of which could be avoided with appropriate screening and intervention.
• Early PAD screening has proven to reduce the probability of an amputation resulting from PAD by 90%.
• PAD-related amputations occur more frequently among minority communities.
• Black Americans with diabetes are up to four times more likely to undergo amputation as a result of PAD compared to white Americans.
• Hispanics and Native Americans with diabetes experience PAD at measurably higher rates than white Americans.

Read Endovascular Today’s previous coverage of the ARC Act here.