IU Physicians Offer Free Vascular Disease Screenings

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Radiology and Surgery and the Indiana Vascular Institute will conduct free screenings for people suffering from leg pain to determine if they are at risk for peripheral vascular disease, a common condition affecting thousands of Hoosiers.

The Indiana Vascular Institute will sponsor free screenings from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Indiana Cancer Pavilion's first floor lobby.

The department's participation is part of the nationwide Legs for Life™ National Screening Week for PVD & AAA, sponsored by the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR). The screening will be coordinated by Sabah Butty, M.D., assistant professor of clinical radiology and an SIR member.

Additional information on the screening program can be found at www.legsforlife.org.

Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) is a condition in which arteries in the leg can become narrowed or blocked. Untreated, walking can become difficult due to pain, numbness or muscle weakness. Skin ulcers can develop and in severe cases, gangrene can set in, possibly resulting in amputation. The disease starts quietly and many sufferers wrongly conclude that the pain and weakness in their legs are normal signs of aging. PVD is most common in those 50 years of age and older and factors that might aggravate the condition are smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and being overweight.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), often called a "silent killer," usually has no obvious symptoms and is caused by a weakened area in the main vessel that supplies blood from the heart to the rest of the body. When blood flows through the aorta, the weakened area bulges like a balloon. If the balloon grows large enough, there is a danger that it will burst. The 13th leading cause of death - nearly 15,000 a year - in the United States.

AAA affects as many as 5 percent to 7 percent of people over the age of 60, with males four times more likely to have AAA than females.

The screening program at the IU School of Medicine is fast, free and painless. During the Legs for Life screening, participants will complete a questionnaire designed to help assess their risk for developing PVD. Medical staff will take blood pressure readings in the ankles and arms to check for possible circulation problems. Those who report symptoms of PVD have multiple risk factors or abnormal blood pressure readings will be advised to consult further with their personal primary care physician. Those who show risk of AAA will receive a painless ultrasound to detect the presence of AAA.

To arrange for your free screening, call Clarian On-Call at 317-916-3525. Participants with access to the Internet can visit the Department of Radiology's Web site at www.indyrad.iupui.edu/legsforlife, for more information or to complete a pre-screening survey.

# # #

Media Contact: Joe Stuteville
317-274-7722
jstutevi@iupui.edu

Susan Overs Wilson 317-715-6384
sowilson@iupui.edu

INDIANA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

MEDIA
RELATIONS

A STATEWIDE
RESOURCE

Phone
317 274 7722

Fax
317 278 8722