Dr. Shoeb Sitafalwalla is issuing a call to action calling heart disease an epidemic in the South Asian community.
The cardiologist at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois recently talked to the Park-Ridge Herald Advocate about his concerns.
“Basically, South Asians are at a (four times more) increased risk than the general population. It’s been kind of a silent epidemic,” said Sitafalwalla. One fourth of heart attacks that occur within the South Asian community occur under the age of 40. South Asian women are at a 30 to 50 percent increased risk of dying from a heart attack compared to the general population. I’m seeing people who are my parents’ age in their 50s and 60s; Just as they’re about to retire, they’re dying. It’s a huge issue.
Recently he helped Luthern General launch the South Asian Cardiac Center.
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You can learn more about the center and the risk of South Asians for heart disease in the Park-Ridge Herald Advocate,