Consider this piece a sequel to my column about Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) and the QuantaFlo System from Semler Scientific. Consider this piece a seasonal reminder about an issue too important to ignore, too urgent to dismiss and too critical to deny. Consider this piece a summation to my opening argument about a topic that matters to the health of Americans in general and the wellness of tens of millions of working Americans in particular, because we need to have a way to address this challenge before it becomes an irreversible crisis; before it becomes too costly to control; before it becomes all but impossible to contain.
Consider this piece, then, as a way to focus on something that needs more attention -- more prevention. Emphasizing this subject is also a reminder of what the American Heart Association (AHA) already knows, which is something we have a duty to know, too. That duty, which the QuantaFlo System renders easy to organize and even easier to perform, is a potentially life-saving measure unto itself. I exaggerate not in the slightest, not when people do not understand the dangers they face.
Not when there is an insufficient emphasis on stopping unhealthy habits. Not when too few Americans do enough exercise. Not when too many Americans fail to schedule an appointment with a doctor. Not when Americans fail to keep to keep an appointment to see a doctor. Not when Americans do little or nothing to lessen stress. Not when they fail to relieve muscle aches and pains.
Putting PAD at the forefront of this discussion is, therefore, essential to advancing the cause of corporate wellness. It is indispensable to promoting the ideas, never mind the ideals, that define a healthy workplace and determine the health of individual workers. It is a topic that we have a moral responsibility to resolve, before this physical epidemic becomes a fiscal catastrophe; making health insurance too pricey to purchase and investing in wellness to impractical to pursue.
I cite this condition not to belabor the point, but to ensure readers get the point: We need to take PAD from the realm of the obscure to the reality of everyday conversations about personal health and corporate wellness. I cite this condition because we must not cast aside studies from AHA or diagnoses from medical experts, where there can be no doubt - there is no doubt - about the severity of this situation.
I cite this condition because now is the time for action, not talk; for deeds, not words. The good news is, per my initial column, very good indeed. Diagnosing PAD is fast, reliable and easy, a breakthrough worthy of celebration and praise. With the QuantaFlo System, we have an FDA-approved digital device that is an invaluable screening tool: It helps better diagnose patients who may have or be at risk of developing PAD. This innovation benefits everyone since it stops a possibly lethal threat.
In so doing, it stabilizes a company's workforce; it reduces the likelihood of the onset of a major illness and the attendant loss in productivity from such an event. Bear in mind, again, that PAD can rob a business of its intellectual capital. It can sideline the employees who have the intelligence and wisdom necessary for a company to prosper. For no organization can succeed when it cannot manage to survive, due to workers who have PAD and require customized medical treatment like surgery or prolonged hospitalization.
As I have said, and continue to say now, we must be proactive rather than reactive about PAD. Only then will that acronym translate into something positive, such as Preventing and Arresting Disease. That strategy, augmented by a revolutionary device to detect PAD, is a plan that works. It strengthens corporate wellness by refusing to pad the record, so to speak, with innocuous comments and false assertions.
It makes PAD the priority it should be - the priority it must be - by converting this challenge into a catalyst for permanent change. This is the change we need, and the shift we owe it to ourselves to achieve, so employees can be healthy and hearty. With a device to better clarify each person's risk, and with a noninvasive means of accomplishing this task, companies have no excuse to ignore, discount or dispute the gravity of this concern.
The same rule applies to doctors, nutritionists, and personal trainers, among others, as they welcome the day when we can eliminate PAD altogether. Employers should continue to educate their employees about this subject. They should continue to invest in a proven resource to assess the probability that this condition may be a clear and present danger. They must do everything they can to stop this threat.
These steps are a way to increase individual health and collective wellness for the betterment of society and the good of the economy as a whole. Those steps are, as I never cease to mention, our pathway to reducing PAD. Following this strategy will reward employers and employees alike. By preventing PAD companies will do more to expand corporate wellness, going from the theoretical to the actual; going from a goal to a reality; going from an unfulfilled ambition to an accomplishment that earns the respect of many and the admiration of millions more.Let us welcome this opportunity.Let us seize this opportunity.
About the Author
Lewis Fein writes about a variety of health and wellness issues, in addition to pieces about technology, business, and management. Based in Southern California, you may email him at feinlewis@gmail.com
