MEDIA ADVISORY
USF College of Medicine to offer free vascular screenings Thursday, May 13

WHAT: The University of South Florida College of Medicine's Division of Vascular Surgery is one of 150 vascular centers across the country that will participate in the American Vascular Association's annual nationwide early detection program. The Division will offer free, comprehensive screenings for several non-cardiac vascular diseases, including aortic aneurysms, carotid artery disease and peripheral arterial disease.

WHEN: Thursday, May 13, 2004, 8:30 a.m to 5 p.m.

WHERE: USF Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory
Harbourside Medical Tower
4 Columbia Drive, Suite 300
(Next to Tampa General Hospital on Davis Island)

Appointments are required for the free screenings. To make
an appointment, or for more information, please call
813-259-0601.

WHO: Adults age 60 or older with one or more risk factors for vascular disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol or smoking.

WHY: While heart disease is the nation's number one killer, vascular disease outside the heart kills and disables countless Americans each year. This screening program is a series of simple noninvasive procedures that may detect critical non-cardiac vascular problems in their early stages.

- USF -

Responding to demand from Tampa's community leaders, the University of South Florida College of Medicine was established by the Florida Legislature in 1965. Part of the USF Health Sciences Center, doctors and researchers were awarded nearly $88 million in grants and contracts last year. Providing advanced medical care, USF Physicians Group at the College of Medicine is the largest doctor group in West Central Florida offering expert medical care throughout Tampa Bay's finest hospitals such as Tampa General Hospital, James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center and All Children's Hospital.