The Find the AAAnswers Coalition has announced that Kmart Pharmacy will join their effort to increase awareness of abdominal aortic aneurysms, a condition that is currently undiagnosed in more than one million Americans, by offering education, risk assessment and screenings at Kmart Pharmacy locations nationwide.
More than one million people are living with an undiagnosed abdominal aortic aneurysm, and only 10–25% of those people will survive if their aneurysm ruptures.
“The Find the AAAnswers Coalition is proud to partner with Kmart Pharmacy on this important education initiative,” said R Clement Darling III, chair, Society for Vascular Surgery’s Public and Professional Outreach Committee; chief, Division of Vascular Surgery at Albany Medical Center Hospital and a Find the AAAnswers Coalition member. “Together, we can help to improve lives by bringing widespread awareness to vascular wellness and by targeting those individuals most in need of early detection of vascular disease, particularly abdominal aortic aneurysm.”
“With more than a thousand locations nationwide, Kmart Pharmacy is well positioned to disseminate educational information on abdominal aortic aneurysms, review risk factors with customers, and offer free ultrasound screenings at select stores, which we believe can significantly improve early detection,” said Robbert Ayshford, divisional vice president of Pharmacy Administration, Kmart Pharmacy.
With the goal of providing early detection information and services for abdominal aortic aneurysms to millions of Americans, Find the AAAnswers will offer free of charge:
• Aneurysm ultrasound screenings at select Kmart pharmacies
• Aneurysm risk assessment at Kmart Pharmacy Flu Clinics
• Educational guide on abdominal aortic aneurysms
“When detected early, 95% of abdominal aortic aneurysms can be managed and successfully treated. Screening for aneurysms is our best chance to help save lives, and with Kmart Pharmacy as our national screening and education partner, we can educate many more Americans about abdominal aortic aneurysms before it is too late,” said Thomas Maldonado, associate professor of Vascular Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Find the AAAnswers Coalition member.
These educational services will be available at more than 1,000 Kmart Pharmacies nationwide and online at www.kmart.com/pharmacy. A risk assessment quiz and doctor directory also is available online at www.FindtheAAAnswers.org.
About Find the AAAnswers
Find the AAAnswers is a multi-faceted public education campaign designed to raise awareness of abdominal aortic aneurysms and drive at-risk individuals to be screened. The programme is sponsored by Medtronic and supported by the Find the AAAnswers Coalition, an alliance of concerned medical societies that have come together to provide accurate information about abdominal aortic aneurysms. Coalition members include the American College of Preventive Medicine, the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society, the Society for Vascular Nursing, the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society for Vascular Ultrasound. In September 2010, Kmart Pharmacy joined the Coalition and assists in offering free abdominal aortic aneurysm education, risk assessment and screening to consumers in the United States.
