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>> So the South Asian Heart Center is the first non-profit
response to the epidemic of heart disease
in the South Asian community.
South Asian's are at four times the risk for heart disease.
They are twice as likely to die from heart attack,
three times is likely to have a secondary heart attack
after having the first one, and 60 percent
of the world's heart disease burden is born by Indians
of South Asian descent, which is less
than 17 percent of the population.
So, there's a heath disparity out there.
And the South Asian Heart Center aims
to deduce this high incidence of heart disease in the community.
The mission of the South Asian Heart Center is
to create public awareness through education,
screen individuals for their risks through advance screening,
and then facilitate changes in lifestyle
through heart health coaching.
>> For the last 10 years,
we were seeing young South Asian engineers presenting
to the El Camino Emergency Room with heart attacks.
We were seeing individuals in their mid-40s with a spouse
and two children in the waiting room having an acute myocardial
infarction, and they did not have the classic risk factors
that we learn in medical school
that could explain the increase risk of Cardiovascular Disease.
And that prompted myself and other physicians
at El Camino Hospital to look into it further, and that led
to the creation of South Asian Heart Center.
What we have found is that there are factors
that are not commonly evaluated in physician's offices
that explain the increase risk
or partially explain the increase risk
of Cardiovascular Disease in this population.
>> There are other things that attribute to the risk.
There is a higher incidence of diabetes.
There is, you know, a higher incidence
of the total cholesterol to HDL ratio
within this population as well.
And those are the traditional risk factors.
There is a shortage of protective risk factors.
This population is more sedentary.
This population, while being vegetarian,
is not eating fruits and vegetables.
It's a grain based diet versus a fruits
and vegetables based diet.
And finally, there are a set of emerging risk factors
that maybe genetically determined that are present
in this population and show up abnormally in this population.
So we feel that those are kind
of the three areas why there is a higher incidence
of heart disease in this population.
>> The issue about genetics is really important.
And the South Asian Heart Center has been doing some tests
that have a genetic basis.
Lipoprotein little A is an autosomal dominant factor
that tends to be elevated in Northern Europeans
who have the highest incidence of Coronary Artery Disease
in Europe and also is very high among South Asians individuals
in the sub-Indian continent.
And that lipoprotein little A is not routinely measured
in many physician's offices and it can actually if not--
if it goes unmeasured, untreated and if associated
with other risk factors such as a low HDL cholesterol factors,
such as diabetes, tobacco, hypertension,
can significantly increase your risk of heart attack
by about 120 times, not 120 percent but 120 times.
So we have identified that genetic factor
and there are other factors that we're looking at right now.
>> We encourage them to get this advance test done,
which will perhaps give them a better prediction of their risk.
And we do that at the center by not only testing for lipids,
which is the traditional test that you might get
at the physician's office, but looking at your glucose
and insulin abnormalities, looking at Lp little A
or what we call the deadly cholesterol, and looking at some
of the subtypes of LDL and HDL.
Those are that attribute to a greater affinity
to creating plaque or for removing plaque or, you know,
helping restore the balance.
And then we work on exercise, diet and stress management
at the center with the individuals.
We provide nutrition counseling, which is South Asians
who are culturally sensitive.
You know, people are eating South Asian diets at home
and many of the nutritionists that are out there or associated
with physician's offices may not have that background,
may not know what to change in your diet appropriately,
may not understand the amount of carbohydrates
that may actually exist in the diet that are leading to,
you know, visceral fat or central obesity.
>> So I was completely surprised
when I had my heart attack, and I was 44.
Now, I should have known.
You know, my father had heart attacks before,
but it never was real to me and, you know,
until I have my heart attack.
And I have to kind of change my lifestyle.
And what I found was that it isn't a solution
or the one thing fits all kind of a solution.
First of all, I-- through having my heart attack found
out what I should be testing for, and why it is important
as a South Asian to test for these additional things.
The second thing was, you know,
coming up with a lifestyle program.
And exercise, other than the fact that it's hard to kind
of sustain and kind of keep it on, you at least know
that you know you can get on to an exercise program,
you can do three days of exercise per week or five days.
I found out that for myself I have to do it seven days a week,
you know, one hour of some sort of vigorous activity.
But the key difference to my numbers really came
from the nutrition aspect.
>> The goals of the South Asian Heart Center is
to actually make a South Asian Heart Center
in every physician's office.
So we have a very big emphasis in educating physicians.
We do not compete with physicians for patients.
We actually encourage participants to return back
to their physician and to receive their medical care.
>> So what I would say first is know
that you are at a high risk.
There is studies after studies that have shown that.
Once you believe in that then the next thing for you too is
to get screened, if you have not already.
Talk to your doctor and make it important for them.
Make it important that they do this advance test beyond the
lipid panel and look at you more comprehensively.
If they are not doing it, come to us,
get screened here, we'll do it for you.
And then start working on your lifestyle.
So the first thing is to just get involved.
Then get your family and your friends involved at the program.
We really feel that women can make a tremendous difference
to this epidemic and they will be the ones
that can actually change the course of the epidemic
within our generation, because they are the family medical
officers typically in a South Asian family.
They can not only impact themselves,
women are at a high risk too,
but they can really impact the three
or four family members in their circle.
And if each family medical officer started doing this,
we can really change the profile of this epidemic going forward.
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