My Cause

The Mission: The mission of the SVS Foundation is to optimize the vascular health and well-being of patients and the public through support of research that leads to discovery of knowledge and innovative strategies, as well as education and programs, to prevent and treat circulatory disease.

About the Organization: Join the Vascular Health Step Challenge to raise awareness, raise your step count, and raise vital funds to support the Society for Vascular Surgery Foundation (SVSF) and its work to improve vascular health!

Walking is instrumental in keeping the 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body healthy - especially for those with or at risk for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), one of the leading causes of vascular illness. This September, during PAD Awareness Month, SVSF is challenging folks to get moving by walking 60 miles with the Vascular Health Step Challenge, while helping raise $60,000 to fund exercise therapy for low-income patients.

Vascular conditions affect the veins and arteries in your body, which conduct oxygen to every living cell. Think of your veins and arteries as expressways or rivers. When there are traffic jams, roadway construction, or broken dams, trouble ensues. In most cases, vascular conditions are highly treatable, often without surgery.

As we age, our arteries tend to thicken, get stiffer, and narrow. A narrowing of the arteries from the build-up of plaque can lead to coronary heart disease; when this occurs in the blood vessels leading to the heart, it can cause a heart attack. The same situation in the arteries leading to the brain can cause strokes. Narrowing of the arteries in other places, such as your legs, can cause Peripheral Arterial Disease, or PAD. PAD can lead to sores, pain with walking, or amputation and is relatively common, affecting more than 10 million people in the U.S. It is more common in people who are 65 or older, but can occur at nearly any age. Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or triglycerides, diabetes, kidney failure, and obesity increase your risk for PAD.

Adding regular walking into your daily routine can help make a big difference in your overall health. Walking can aid in preventing or managing various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, PAD, and type 2 diabetes – and it is one of the best exercises a PAD patient can do to reduce their symptoms. That’s why the SVSF is working to support exercise therapy programs which help treat and prevent the progression of vascular disease.

Join the Vascular Health Step Challenge and walk with us toward better vascular health!