October 2007 | Vol. 25, No. 10

SVU Joins Newly Formed Coalition Focused on DVT and Pulmonary Embolism Awareness

The Society for Vascular Ultrasound (SVU) has announced that it has joined the newly formed Venous Disease Coalition (VDC). The VDC is a collaborative network of 19 professional and public nonprofit organizations sharing the mission and vision to increase public and health professional awareness of venous disease, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (known collectively as venous thromboembolism or “VTE”).

The VDC and its member organizations, including SVU, conducted its inaugural media briefing to discuss the dangers, risk factors, warning signs, and treatment options for VTE at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on September 18, 2007. Speaking at the event to help raise awareness about the need for more education and research to prevent and treat DVT and VTE were: Susan Shurin, MD, Deputy Director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D), Colorado’s 7th Congressional District; Massachusetts State Representative Michael F. Rush (R); and Michael J. Hefron, DVT/PE Survivor.

“SVU supports the Venous Disease Conditions efforts to improve the survival rates and quality of life for individuals with, or at risk for, venous disease,” said SVU Executive Director Steve Haracznak.

VTE is the 3rd most common vascular disease after heart disease and stroke. It is a potentially life-threatening, but treatable and largely preventable disorder that includes two related conditions:

1. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) - Abnormal clotting of the blood in one or more veins, most commonly the veins of the leg; and
2. Pulmonary embolism (PE) - Occurs when a DVT breaks free from its original site in a vein and then travels through the heart and then into the lungs.

This important media event united vascular healthcare professionals from North America to launch the Venous Disease Coalition. The briefing included some of the nation’s top physicians and nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing public and health professional awareness of VTE.

The Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) has taken the lead in creating this unique coalition in partnership with 19 major national public health organizations and professional vascular societies. In addition to VDF, participating organizations include the American Academy of Physician Assistants, American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Phlebology, American Society of Hematology, American Thrombosis Hemostasis Network, American Venous Forum, Anticoagulation Forum, Hemophilia & Thrombosis Research Society, National Alliance of Thrombosis and Thrombophilia, North American Thrombosis Forum, Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Society of Interventional Radiology, Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology, Society for Vascular Nursing, Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society for Vascular Ultrasound.