CAPTION: U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal represents Washington’s 7th District and, is the first South Asian American woman elected to Congress.
Writing in ‘The Hill’ about the health challenges facing South Asian Americans, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and global health expert Gayathri Badrinath called for action to address the lack of awareness about the unique and growing heart health risks of South Asian Americans.
South Asian Americans are four times more at risk of developing heart disease.
They warn that early onset diabetes and bad cholesterol are contributing factors that increased the risk of heart disease.
According to Stamford Healthcare https://stanfordhealthcare.org/stanford-health-care-now/2015/south-asians-heart-disease-qa.html South Asians in the US are more likely to have a heart attack before the age of 50 and are now the group with the highest risk of Type 2 diabetes.
They called for improved education and outreach to the medical establishment and South Asians (of Indian Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, or Nepalese descent) across the country, and for support for the South Asian Heart Health awareness and Research Act 2019 that Pramila Jayapal and U.S. Representative Joe Wilson introduced last year. The Act aims to develop and disseminate culturally appropriate informational material for the South Asian community.
Advocacy Action: Do you have hard to reach and more at-risk groups within your population? Have you any successful measures you can share?