Representative Pramila Jayapal’s (pictured) South Asian Heart Health Bill has passed another stage in Congress.
As reported during earlier stages, the US House of Representatives has now passed a bipartisan bill aimed at raising awareness about the alarming rate of heart disease in South Asian communities throughout the United States while investing in strategies to reverse the deadly trend.
The South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act was introduced by Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
“As the first South Asian American woman ever elected to the House of Representatives, I am fully committed to not only educating the South Asian community about the risk factors for heart disease but also ensuring that those living with heart disease receive the care, treatment, resources and support they need,” Jayapal said.
South Asians make up 25 percent of the world’s population but 50 percent of global cardiovascular deaths.
Additionally, South Asian Americans are four times more at risk of developing heart disease than the general population, have a much greater chance of having a heart attack before age 50 and have emerged as the ethnic group with the highest prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, which is a leading cause of heart disease.