WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Scott Perry, R-Pa., has introduced the “Treatment and Relief through Emerging and Accessible Therapy (TREAT PTSD)” Act, to take the offensive in the war on veteran suicide by providing relief from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Injury by expanding access to a lifesaving therapy called Stellate Ganglion Block.
Left untreated, PTSD/I takes a severe toll on the physical, mental and economic health of our warriors, and has a proven link to America’s veteran suicide epidemic with more than 20 suicides a day. An estimated 11-20 percent of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom veterans are diagnosed with PTSD/I each year, with 12 percent of Gulf War veterans and 15 percent of Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD/I annually. Unfortunately, only 40 percent of veterans find relief from PTSD/I with current treatments.
Perry authored the bill after meeting with dozens of veterans and practitioners who had success with SGB, and families who lost their veterans to suicide and felt wider access to the treatment could have saved them. House Resolution 1656 would require the VA to expand an already-approved VA option for SGB as a frontline treatment for PTSD/I. Currently, the VA requires a veteran to fail other treatments before being approved for SGB.
“Our veterans and their families risk it all to protect our freedoms, so it’s unconscionable for America to repay their sacrifice by requiring they fail first before giving them an option that can save their lives,” said Perry, a retired Army brigadier general and combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) with more than 38 years of military service. “One of the best treatments to stop veteran suicide is SGB, and we have a moral duty as legislators to remove barriers so our brave warriors can stop suffering and dying needlessly.”
SGB therapy is a relatively simple outpatient procedure that’s been used since the 1920s. In 2008, researchers discovered that the treatment, which injects a non-narcotic, anesthetic agent into a collection of nerves in the neck (stellate ganglia), alleviated common PTSD/I symptoms including the desire to commit suicide, hyper-arousal, exaggerated startle responses, and anxiety. It does this by calming the patient’s “fight or flight” response, which often is never turned off in patients suffering PTSD/I.
“When you have veterans asking for this treatment and they can’t access it, that’s wrong,” said Pennsylvania VFW Commander Ronald J. Peters of Bradford. “If this can help save the life of one veteran, then it needs to be more available. We’re in a time where the veteran suicide rate is disturbingly high, and SGB could be one more tool to help prevent that.”
While SGB is not being hailed as a cure-all, published research has found that, by using SGB, physical relief from PTSD/I symptoms enabled patients to better engage in traditional treatments, such as talk therapy and medication — which, when used together, brings long-term relief and healing. Recipients of SGB therapy have characterized the treatment as nothing short of lifesaving.
The bill is assigned to the House Committees on Armed Services, and veterans’ Affairs for further consideration.
