PAD. Other communities of color face similar disparities. For example, Hispanics are 75% more likely to have their limbs surgically removed, while Native Americans are more than twice as likely to face non-traumatic amputations.”
“For racial minorities in Mississippi, where I work as a limb salvage specialist, the rates are even higher. Here at the epicenter of the PAD epidemic, nine out of 10 of amputees that I’ve encountered or evaluated have never had a diagnostic test for PAD or an appropriate vascular evaluation to salvage their limbs.”
“A recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that roughly 1 in 7 American adults with diabetes skipped a dose of insulin or took less of it because the medicine was too expensive—suggesting policy change is needed to make medications like insulin much more affordable.”
“We can—and must—do better as a country. It is critical that physicians, policymakers and patients all confront the danger head on.”
“Like other health crises, the first step to ensuring community health is awareness and determination to act.”