Peripheral vascular disease (PVD), a prevalent yet under-diagnosed and under-treated condition,There were survey which demonstrates that the public is not well informed about PAD, with major knowledge gaps demonstrated regarding the definition of PVD, who is at risk, and the causes of PVD. The public does not know that PAD predicts future heart attack, stroke, amputation, and death. Many people dismiss PVD symptoms as a “normal” part of aging and don’t seek medical help. Only about half of those with symptoms have been diagnosed with PVD, and only half of those are in treatment. Knowledge gaps are most prominent among those individuals who are at the highest risk of having PVD (eg, individuals who are older, are a minority, or have lower attained educational or income levels). The absence of this knowledge likely contributes to the known under recognition of PAD symptoms by the public and known delay in achieving a diagnosis of PAD. The absence of knowledge about the specific impact of PAD on leg symptoms, functional status, and amputation is likely to contribute to low use of PAD risk-reduction and symptom-improving therapies. This initiative can be used to inform the educational efforts of national, regional, and practice-based PAD public education programs to educate consumers about PVD and to encourage those at high risk to discuss the disease with their physician.There also was a need to address a lack of information about PVD among primary care physicians and to help them better evaluate their patients.
