January 17, 2008

Volunteers are being recruited for free venous screenings by the Division of Vascular Surgery at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine during the last week of January.  The screening is part of a national effort by the American Vascular Association (AVA) to promote public awareness of vascular disease.

“Many people are aware of screenings for things like cholesterol and blood pressure but few know about a ten-minute test for vascular disease that can save lives,” said Dr. Robert McLafferty, professor of vascular surgery at SIU, who is directing this first national venous screening.  “We are partnering with Memorial Medical Center’s vascular lab personnel to provide state-of-the art screening at no cost to participants.”

The screening date in Springfield is 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 30, at the SIU Vascular Clinic, 751 N. Rutledge, Room 2100.  All participants will receive educational material about vascular disease, a test for venous disease and the opportunity to have the results reviewed with a vascular surgeon.

Those who are age 35 and older and have not had a vascular screening in the last year, can contact the SIU Vascular Clinic between 8 and 4:30 p.m. at 217-545-5555 weekdays.

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