For eight years, Dr. Craig Walker has visited China, annually, to offer physician training on interventional treatments for peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and limb salvage. Plans are now underway for a specialized limb salvage program at The 16th People's Hospital of Zhengzhou in China, that Dr. Walker will establish from the ground up.
The program will rotate expert physicians from Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) and the Horizons International Peripheral Group, comprised of the leading PVD innovators, educators, and advocates of PVD treatment. These physicians will provide advanced education and training for doctors and fellows in China through in-person visits, as well as teleconference capabilities.
For the past three years, Dr. Walker has also taught for a mentorship program, which welcomed young Chinese physicians to the states to learn new and innovative techniques to share with their colleagues back home.
The population in China has a primarily western diet, high in saturated fat, red meat, and refined sugars. Almost 110 million people in China have diabetes, and 28 percent of all adults and 50 percent of men in China are estimated to smoke regularly. These factors all contribute to the prevalence of heart disease, showing the need and importance for advanced vascular care and treatment throughout China.
Dedicating his life to PVD prevention and limb salvage, Dr. Walker founded Cardiovascular Institute of the South in 1983, and New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH), one of the largest PVD conferences in the world.
This multispecialty conference focuses on limb salvage and amputation prevention techniques for patients suffering from peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and critical limb ischemia (CLI).
“PAD affects 20 million Americans, which is more than breast cancer,” explained Dr. Walker. “We must raise awareness for prevention and treatment to do away with amputations, and improve the level of care we provide for our patients—both locally and internationally.”
On August 15, CIS is celebrating its 34th anniversary of providing cardiovascular care to south Louisiana and beyond. CEO David Konur said, “We’re very excited to have found such as strong partner for our first international effort to train physicians around the world in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. This truly marks a milestone in our company’s history.”