Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month The Role of Vascular Ultrasound

October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month Join the Society for Vascular Ultrasound and help spread awareness in October Educate Send an educational card to friends or family to share facts about vascular disease and the impact of vascular ultrasound technology Get Congress Involved Use a prepared template letter to send to your local Governor or Mayor asking them to help raise awareness in your town Be Social Use infographics designed to share on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and use images for your profile cover photos

Common Vascular Disease Numbers Every year there are approximately 10 million cases of venous thromboembolism (VTE) 1 in every 20 Americans older than 50 have peripheral arterial disease (PAD) General population awareness of PAD is estimated at 25% Estimates suggest up to 100,000 Americans die of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and or pulmonary embolism (PE) 10% to 30% of people will die within one month of diagnosis of DVT/ PE 1/3 of people with DVT/PE will have a recurrence within 10 years Up to 60% of VTE cases occur during or after hospitalization, making it a leading preventable cause of hospital death

Definitions of Common Vascular Diseases DVT DVT – Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot in the deep venous system PE – Pulmonary embolism is when a blood clot travels to the lungs VTE – Venous thromboembolism, DVT+PE are collectively referred to as VTE AAA – Abdominal aortic aneurysm is when the wall of the aorta weakens and bulges out Varicose Veins – is when the valves are damaged and blood pools in the legs PE VTE AAA Varicose Veins

Common Symptoms & Signs DVT Pain or tenderness, often starting in the calf Swelling, including the ankle or foot Redness or noticeable discoloration PE Unexplained shortness of breath Rapid breathing Chest pain, may be worse upon deep breath Rapid heart rate Light headedness or passing out

What is Vascular Ultrasound? Medical ultrasound (sonography) is a medical imaging modality that uses high frequency sound waves to create an image. Sound waves are safe and do not contain harmful radiation. Vascular ultrasound is the specialty that interrogates the arteries and veins of the body. Combining ultrasound imaging with Doppler ultrasound technologies allows the vascular technologist to evaluate and record blood flow characteristics dynamically in real time. The technology used is an important part of diagnosing vascular conditions including: AAA DVT PAD Varicose Veins And more!

The Important Role of Vascular Ultrasound A vascular sonographer or technologist performs non-invasive diagnostic examinations of the arteries and veins. Examinations assess blood flow in the arteries checking for blood clots and blockages. The sonographer applies a water-soluble gel to the skin and uses a transducer to capture images. Images are then sent to the interpreting physician to create a report of findings. The exams allow them to identify conditions ahead of time so they can be properly treated before becoming life threatening.

Well-known People Who Have Suffered from Vascular Disease Albert Einstein, Famous Scientist Brian Vickers, NASCAR Driver Chris Bosh, NBA Player David Bloom, Late NBC Reporter Dick Cheney, Former U.S. Vice President Jimmy Stewart , Late Actor Regis Philbin , TV Show Talk host Serena Williams, Professional Tennis Player

Society for Vascular Ultrasound Make a difference and raise awareness for Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month. Learn more today! www.svunet.org/muam

Sources Facts and Figures http://wilsontimes.com/stories/Learn-about-wound-care-and-peripherial-arterial-disease,72728 http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_pad.htm http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_aortic_aneurysm.htm http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dvt/data.html http://www.worldthrombosisday.org/issue/vte/ http://thisisserious.org/ http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/109/12_suppl_1/I-9 Well-Known People who Suffered from Vascular Disease http://www.dvtlite.com/blog/5-celebrities-you-didn-t-know-had-dvt.html http://www.si.com/nba/chris-bosh-health-blood-clot-miami-heat-nba-playoffs http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/serena-williams-hospitalized-pulmonary-embolism/story?id=13036965 http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2006-03-06-media-mix_x.htm http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17470491/ns/politics/t/cheney-treated-hospital-blood-clot/#.V-U6ZfkrKCh http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21412401