PAD Awareness Day - Creating The Ultimate Vascular Care Team

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Saturday, February 21, 2026

Peripheral Artery Disease is more prevalent than most cancers — and often deadlier when missed. Yet it is still underdiagnosed, misunderstood, and too often treated in silos.

On this episode of The Heart of Innovation, hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips, Interventional Cardiologist, sit down with Dr. David Dexter, Vascular Surgeon at Sentara Health, who was named the Global PAD Association's Multidisciplinary Team Leader of the Year through the Global PAD Impact Awards.

This PAD Awareness Day — observed the third Saturday of every February during American Heart Month — we are talking about why leg health is heart health.

PAD is not just a leg problem. Blocked leg arteries are a warning sign for heart attack and stroke. And patients deserve a coordinated vascular care team — not fragmented care.

In this conversation, we break down:

• Why PAD is more common than many cancers — yet still diagnosed too late • The danger of treating patients in silos • What a true multidisciplinary vascular care team looks like • How cardiology, vascular surgery, podiatry, wound care, and primary care must work together • Why "Sock It to PAD" and Red Sock Day matter during American Heart Month • What patients should demand from their care teams

Too many amputations are preventable. Too many heart attacks have warning signs in the legs first.

It is time to connect the dots.

If you or someone you love has leg pain when walking, numbness, wounds that won't heal, diabetes, kidney disease, or a history of smoking — this conversation could save a limb and a life.

📞 Call the Global PAD Association Leg Saver Hotline with questions about PAD.1-833-PAD-LEGS 🔔 Subscribe to @TheWayToMyHeart for more conversations that challenge the status quo in cardiovascular care. 👍 Like, comment, and share to raise awareness this PAD Awareness Day.

Because saving legs saves lives.

#PADAwarenessDay #SockItToPAD #PeripheralArteryDisease #VascularCare #HeartHealth #AmericanHeartMonth #PreventAmputation #LegHealthIsHeartHealth #PAD