Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis back PAD campaign

Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Sanofi-Pharmaceuticals Partnership have teamed up with the Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Coalition to launch a public action campaign aimed at boosting awareness and testing for the condition.

The PAD: Make the Connection: Know Your Risks from Legs to Heart to Brain initiative will seek to inform families of risk factors for the disease and encourage those in danger of contracting the disease to get tested and receive treatment.

Bristol-Myers Squibb reports that PAD can often be symptomless, or believe their symptoms to be signs of aging, which can result in arteries becoming more clogged as time progresses without diagnosis and therapy.

Emile R Mohler, director of vascular medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, said: “Testing for PAD is simple and painless and is performed right in the doctor’s office.

“Once a patient is diagnosed with PAD, their risk of heart attack and stroke can be reduced through lifestyle changes and treatments.”

He added that increased diagnosis and treatment of the disease can lower the risk of these cardiovascular conditions in patients.

Earlier this month, the Bristol-Myers-Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis sponsored Reach Registry presented a new analysis emphasising the high rates of hospitalisation, stroke, heart attack and death in PAD patients.