(Washington, D.C., Tuesday, July 19, 2022) – Heart valve disease is more common than you or your doctor may think. If left untreated, it can be deadly. According to the CDC, more than 25,000 people in the US die of heart valve disease each year.

The patient advocacy nonprofit Heart Valve Voice US is launching the #Ask4Echo campaign to empower patients to advocate for themselves and ask their health care professionals if an echocardiogram is right for them. The campaign also empowers health care professionals to educate their patients and identify heart valve disease symptoms early.

Heart valve disease is generally treatable with a proper diagnosis, and treatment generally significantly improves a patient’s quality of life. Patients must educate themselves on the symptoms and seek the proper method of evaluation to discover their diagnosis.

ABOUT DR. SREEKANTH VEMULAPALLI

Dr. Vemulapalli specializes in cardiac disease and is a noninvasive cardiologist with clinical and research specialties in peripheral artery disease, structural heart disease, and hypertension. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and a Core Faculty Member at Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and also a Member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute.