| WHAT: |
Often, the first presentation of
coronary artery disease appears in the legs.
How healthy are your legs? The University of Pennsylvania
Health System is hosting a free screening event for
the public to look for peripheral arterial disease (P.A.D.),
as well as Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Carotid Disease and Venous
Disease.
Experts say early detection of P.A.D. is the key to saving lives!
It can cause pain or swelling, difficulty walking, numbness
and skin discoloration - and it can also provide advance warning
of heart attacks and strokes. P.A.D. is caused by blocked blood
flow in the arteries of the legs, arms, kidneys, brain and elsewhere. |
| WHEN: |
Tuesday, November 14
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
|
| WHERE: |
University of Pennsylvania
Houston Hall
Near 34th & Spruce Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104 |
NOTE: You must reserve a screening time in advance.
Call (215) 615-4135.
Penn patient, 59-year-old Marty Carr, while undergoing a physical
exam, discovered the pain in his legs he’d dismissed as “part
of growing older” was actually being caused by hardening of
the arteries. He underwent a minimally invasive procedure by Penn
interventional radiologists in which stents were put in his legs
to improve the blood flow. Today, the Doylestown resident is pain-free.
Carr, a husband and father, adds, “Go get evaluated for P.A.D.
All it’s going to cost you is your time. My quality of life
was decreasing. Don’t be afraid of hearing you have this or
the procedure. It was easy and will enable you to live longer.”
Nearly 12 million Americans (One in 20) over the age of 50 are
living with P.A.D., giving them a two- to six-fold increased risk
of death from heart attack and stroke.
“Many people with P.A.D. won’t experience obvious symptoms,”
explains interventional radiologist Jeffrey Solomon, MD,
who directs Penn’s Legs for Life program. “Many patients
suffering from P.A.D. ignore or cannot feel the classic warning
signs of it - leg pain. Leg discomfort can be a sign that the leg
arteries are clogged.”
###
PENN Medicine is a $2.9 billion enterprise
dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical
research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists
of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in
1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of
Pennsylvania Health System.
Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt
of NIH research funds; and ranked #3 in the nation in U.S.News &
World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical
schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the
School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education
and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and
leaders of academic medicine.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three
hospitals, all of which have received numerous national patient-care
honors [Hospital of theUniversity of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania
Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical
Center]; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network;
two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.
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