We are continuing our mission to help Black Americans get the care they deserve and avoid the needless, devastating loss of a limb. Black Americans with peripheral artery disease (PAD) have up to four times higher risk of amputation than white Americans.3 Save Legs, Change Lives is our multiyear initiative to address the hidden threat of PAD-related amputation.
Based on information from our PAD Health Equity Assessment Tracker, a tool that helps identify communities in the U.S. at increased risk of PAD-related amputation, we prioritized education in higher-risk communities and promoted early detection of PAD with free screenings at 68 events nationwide. During the year, we engaged with congressional leaders on the reintroduction of the Amputation Reduction and Compassion Act—a bipartisan bill that would require Medicare and Medicaid to fully cover screening tests for beneficiaries deemed to be at high risk for PAD.
3National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “Facts About Peripheral Artery Disease (for P.A.D.) for African Americans”, accessed March 2024.
