Newswise — The Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) received a $1 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote the health of women who suffer from, or are in danger of suffering from, venous thromboembolism (VTE). This five-year cooperative agreement involves the development, implementation and evaluation of a public education program about clotting disorders which will be directed specifically to women.
Women can be affected by VTE at any age because the varying contributing factors span a woman’s lifetime. Those factors include: pregnancy, childbirth and delivery; hormone replacement therapy; surgery; trauma; and cancer treatment. Therefore, the outreach and education program will specifically target women with these risk factors as well as women in general because women in the U.S. make 75 percent of the healthcare decisions for their families.
“Vascular diseases in women have historically been under-emphasized in the media and with many healthcare providers,” said Anton Sidawy, M.D., president Vascular Disease Foundation. “We know that conditions like venous thromboembolism affect women at many stages of life. Our goal is to educate the public on the risks and warning signs so we can vastly reduce unnecessary deaths in the U.S. from blood clots.”
The first year of the program will focus on general awareness of VTE among women, especially during and immediately after pregnancy. The VDF, along with the CDC, will be working with member organizations of its Venous Disease Coalition – such as Spirit of Women – to pass along important information about prevention, diagnosis and treatment of VTE. Subsequent years of the five year plan will continue general outreach as well as focus on specific risk factors like surgery, trauma and cancer treatment.
About the Vascular Disease FoundationThe Vascular Disease Foundation is the only national organization with the sole purpose of educating the public about vascular diseases. It is the most trusted source of credible, scientific and non-biased information on vascular diseases. For more information, call 888.VDF.4INFO (888.833.4463) or visit our Web site, www.vdf.org
About the Venous Disease CoalitionThe Venous Disease Coalition (VDC) is a collaborative network of professional and public organizations united by one mission to increase public and health professional awareness of venous disease. The Coalition provides opportunities for members of the public, health care professionals, clinician investigators and basic researchers, professional health societies, government and health policy agencies, and other public and private organizations to work collaboratively to improve public health by providing educational programs regarding venous disease. The VDC is a division of the Vascular Disease Foundation. For more information, visit www.venousdiseasecoalition.org.
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