Vascular disease will be featured during the third in a series of five programs highlighting the services of the Reid Heart Center: The FirstHealth Cardiac & Vascular Institute.

Drs. Clinton K. Atkinson and Joel A. Berman are the featured speakers for the Thursday program, called "Is Your Blood Flowing Like It Should: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Peripheral Artery Disease." These two vascular surgeons with Pinehurst Surgical will discuss the history and physiology of the two conditions as well as treatment options.

Their program will get under way at 6 p.m. in the Reid Heart Center, which is at 120 Page Road North, between N.C. 211 and Memorial Drive, on the campus of FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm occurs when the large blood vessel that supplies blood to the abdomen, pelvis and legs becomes abnormally large or balloons outward. Aneurysms develop over many years and often have no symptoms. The larger the aneurysm, the more likely it is to burst.

Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, is a narrowing of the peripheral arteries, most often in the arteries of the pelvis and legs. It is similar to coronary artery disease and carotid artery disease in that all are caused by narrowed and blocked arteries in various critical regions of the body. PAD affects about 8 million Americans and becomes more common as people age.

Atkinson earned his medical degree from the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed his internship and residency in general surgery at East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine in Greenville. He completed a fellowship in vascular surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

Atkinson's practice specialties include minimally invasive and traditional open procedure treatment of abdominal aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, venous disease, carotid artery stenting and surgery, varicose and spider veins, and lower extremity wounds, and dialysis access and management.

Berman earned his medical degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago in Illinois and completed his internship and residency in general surgery at the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse.

He completed a fellowship in vascular surgery at Baystate Medical Center-Western Campus of Tufts University School of Medicine in Springfield, Mass.

Berman's practice specialties include minimally invasive and traditional open procedure treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral artery disease, carotid artery surgery, vascular dialysis access and creation and management, and wound care.

Atkinson and Berman are certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Vascular Surgery.

Registration is required for each program in the Reid Heart Center series.

For more information or to register for any session, call (910) 715-1478 or (800) 213-3284 toll-free. You can also register online at www.firsthealth.org/heart.