Vascular Disease Foundation

Heart attack, stroke, amputation and death are too often the result of vascular diseases. VDF works to prevent and fight vascular disease and help the more than 40 million Americans affected by vascular diseases. 

Why do we exist?

Everyone knows something about heart disease, but few Americans know about the devastating impact of vascular disease.  An estimated 20 million people in the U.S. are at risk for deadly vascular diseases such as carotid artery disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), deep vein thrombosis and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) -- yet most Americans don't know that vascular diseases can kill or cripple and have as devastating an effect as heart disease or cancer.

The Vascular Disease Foundation is national, nonprofit organization that provides user-friendly, accurate and unbiased patient information on the diagnosis and management of life-threatening vascular diseases.  Raising awareness about vascular diseases is critical for two reasons.  First, the number of older Americans is growing each day and anyone over 55 is at higher risk for developing vascular disease. Secondly, vascular conditions do not always have obvious symptoms, although simple screening programs can detect many of these diseases.  Once diagnosed, patients can take measures to reduce risk of complications and improve their quality of life.

Even though vascular diseases are common and deadly, there are very few public education materials designed for the general public. Vascular specialists may have information regarding their particular treatment, but not other options.  The Vascular Disease Foundation exists to fill such information gaps and today serves as the one reliable, unbiased, non-commercial educational resource on vascular diseases – with its information created and endorsed by eight different vascular medical societies.  That means that patients and their caregivers have at their fingertips the expertise of more than 40,000 vascular professionals!

What have you accomplished?

Pat is a great example of one of the thousands of vascular patients we have helped.  She contacted us to say “thanks” for providing information on exercise therapy for peripheral arterial disease.  When she found the story of another patient who had succeeded with exercise therapy on our website, she was very encouraged. 

Before she was diagnosed with intermittent claudication (a symptom of advanced peripheral arterial disease), Pat regularly walked four miles daily and played tennis frequently.  For the first year she had symptoms, she thought she had pulled a muscle while mountain climbing.  She went to a chiropractor, thinking that perhaps her back was the problem – it wasn’t.  Finally, she went to her physician, who diagnosed her with vascular disease.  In fact, an angiogram found her leg artery was completely blocked from her groin to her knee!.  Surgery was suggested as the best option, but Pat was concerned when she learned that a side-effect could be a permanently swollen leg. 

Pat’s nephew, a recent graduate of medical school, suggested the natural by-pass method – that is, exercising to the point of pain, stopping to rest, and then going on again.  Pat took his advice and joined a gym, as well as taking up golf.

Exercise therapy has paid off.  Pat is now able to walk two miles without symptoms and is back to playing tennis “full steam”.

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