LOS ANGELES, Feb. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TheWaytoMyHeart.org, a national non-profit Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) patient advocacy group out of California, announced today that February 19, 2022 will be the first annual national “Red Sock Day” building awareness for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), its patients and treatment. The official proclamation will take place Wednesday February 16 at 10 am CST.
PAD is a disease that affects over 12 million Americans. Left untreated, PAD can lead to resting leg pain, foot wounds that won’t heal, gangrene and even amputation. Yet the majority of cases go undiagnosed, in part due to low awareness and testing.
Kym McNicholas, who heads TheWaytoMyHeart.org explains the importance of the day’s designation. “It was literally a vehicle to spread the word that leg and foot health is an important indicator of PAD and risk factors for heart attack, stroke and amputation. We are letting physicians and patients know that just taking two fingers and two seconds to check the foot pulses of a patient over 50 can make a huge difference in the early diagnosis and treatment of these life threatening diseases.”
A media snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking the image or link below:
Kym says the support for the day has been terrific and that patients and medical practices across the country have lined up to participate. Kym’s organization has even designed custom socks in recognition of the big event. Modern Vascular, a national chain of endovascular clinics specializing in PAD treatment, led the list in Kym’s sock orders, ordering PAD Awareness socks from TheWaytoMyHeart.org for over 300 employees to participate nationwide. Yury Gampel, CEO of Modern Vascular explains his passion for the project, “The secret is in the collaboration. On Red Sock Day every PAD treatment facility puts aside its own practice and focuses on awareness, diagnosis and access to care for patients. Modern Vascular’s mission is to eliminate unnecessary amputations due to PAD, so definitely wanted to take a leading role in this initiative.”
On February 19, PAD patients and medical practices are all encouraged to wear bright red socks in support. Socks do not need to be special purchased for the non-profit, any red sock can be a show of support. Click here for more details on National Red Sock Day.
In addition, to wearing red socks nationwide, Kym’s organization is hosting a PAD conference virtually on that date with over a dozen physicians from across the country helping to spread the word and answering patient questions. At that event, Kym also will announce the organization’s 2022 Patient Champion of the Year. This year’s recipient is Dr. Stephen Leschak, an Intervention Radiologist in Southaven, MS. Kym describes the choice of Dr. Leschak as the recognition of “an amazing human.” “Dr Leschak really stands out in the way he cares for his patients,” says Kym. “He looks at each patient as an individual human and takes all of their health issues in consideration when he recommends a course of care. He truly cares about their quality of life and their overall health.” In 2021 the Patient Champion Award was presented to Dr. Ashish K. Gupta, an Interventional Cardiologist in Winter Park, FL.
