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Interventional Radiology offers community screening The MUSC Department of Interventional Radiology hosted a free screening on Sept. 21 at the MUSC Wellness Center auditorium as part of Legs for Life National Screening Week. During the event, 118 people were screened for peripheral vascular disease and selected participants were also screened for abdominal aortic aneurysm.  Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)? Leg pain is an everyday problem for tens of thousands of Americans.  The pain is often a result of Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD), a circulatory condition caused by a blockage of the blood vessels in the legs. Family history, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, inactivity and smoking are risk factors.  The most common symptoms of PVD include: pain in the legs during walking or exercising, which disappears with rest numbness and tingling in the lower legs and feet coldness in the lower legs or feet  ulcers or sores on the legs or feet that don’t heal color change in the skin of legs or feet loss of hair on legs People with PVD are at a greater risk for heart attack, stroke or loss of limbs.  Early detection is important.  Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)  AAA is caused by a weakened area in the main vessel that supplies blood from the heart to the rest of the body.    When blood flows through the aorta, the weakened area bulges like a balloon.  If the balloon grows large enough, there is a danger that it will burst. Many times there are no obvious symptoms.    Those at highest risk are males, older than 60, who have smoked or who have a history of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Also at risk are males and females with a family history of AAA.  If you have any of the risk factors listed above and were not able to participate in the Legs for Life screening event, contact your physician. Early detection is the key for preventing serious health problems.   Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.