Dear Colleague,

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a growing healthcare concern that places a considerable burden on both afflicted patients and healthcare systems. Patients with PAD have an increased risk of mortality, myocardial infarction, and cerebrovascular disease. They also suffer from significant functional limitations in their daily activities, and the most severely affected are at risk of limb loss. There is therefore a pressing need to provide patients with effective management strategies for the disease.

The Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) II guidelines were developed to provide an international consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of PAD. To keep abreast of the changing clinical landscape, the TASC II documentation is constantly evolving to encompass the latest clinical and technical updates in PAD. The guidelines therefore provide healthcare workers with the only international consensus that provides dynamic information on the diagnosis and treatment of PAD.

The objective of this website is to provide physicians and healthcare providers with a comprehensive source of information about TASC II and PAD in general. Of great relevance to anyone associated with the management of PAD is the forthcoming PAD 2009 meeting to be held in Örebro, Sweden on May 12-13th. The aim of this congress is to examine the current and future collaborations between healthcare providers, regulators, payers and pharmaceutical and medico-technical companies. If you wish to view more information about this conference, please click on the link below.

http://www.pad2009.se/

It is hoped that by using the TASC II website, physicians will more easily be able to diagnose and implement early management, thereby improving the outcomes of patients with PAD worldwide.

Professor Lars Norgren MD, PhD, FRCS (TASC II co-chair)
Professor William Hiatt, MD (TASC II co-chair)
On behalf of the TASC II Working Group