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Home > Press Center > Flint Vascular Surgeon Interviewed in Healthy Body, Healthy Mind Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Program on PBS Stations Nationwide

Contact:
Jill Goodwin
Director of Communications
312-334-2308

Dr. Carlo Dall’Olmo, with the Michigan Vascular Center, Flint, MI, and three other members of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) are interviewed in Healthy Body, Healthy Mind abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) program airing on PBS stations nationwide. Airing in November, the program focuses on the risks, prevention, and treatment of AAA. Nearly 200,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with AAA annually, and approximately 15,000 die each year from a ruptured AAA.

“Raising public awareness of abdominal aortic aneurysms is the only way to prevent the lethal consequences of this vascular condition,” said Dall’Olmo. “If people are concerned that they may have an AAA, they need to ask their doctor. A simple painless ultrasound will answer the question.”

Most smokers know they are at risk for lung disease and heart disease, but few know they are damaging the most important artery in the body, the aorta. Abdominal aortic aneurysms give patients little to no warning signs that pressure is building in the aorta and causing a very serious condition. Undetected, the aneurysm can rupture causing internal bleeding and sending patients quickly into critical condition. However, if diagnosed in time, patients can be successfully treated…and also; saved from a potentially fatal outcome.

AAA is a disease that primarily affects people in their late 50s and 60s. It is a very important topic right now because beginning in Jan. 2007 Medicare will offer a one-time free AAA ultrasound screening to qualified seniors as part of their Welcome to Medicare physical. Men who have smoked at any time during their life, and men and women with a family history of AAA are eligible for the new Medicare benefit.

Other vascular surgeons interviewed in the segment include: Dr. Jeffrey Carpenter, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Dr. Mark Farber, UNC Vascular Surgery, Chapel Hill, NC; Dr. Robert Zwolak, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH.

Viewers should check their local PBS television listing for the airing schedule or go to http://www.itvisus.com/programs/hbhm/schedule.asp. For more information about AAA and other vascular diseases, visit www.vascularweb.org/patientinformation or call 800-258-7188 to receive a brochure about AAA and the Medicare screening benefit.