South Asians and Heart Disease - Creative Solutions with Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes January 27, 2011

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Google Tech Talk
January 25, 2011

Presented by Dr. César Molina and Ashish Mathur.

ABSTRACT

As South Asians, you are genetically predisposed to heart disease:

- South Asians are at 4X higher risk of heart disease
- The disease follows a more rapid, severe and malignant course
- 50% of heart attacks in South Asians occur before the age of 55
- 60% of world's disease burden is borne by Indians (17% of global population)

You may wonder, WHY? Why are you, as a South Asian, at a higher risk despite being predominantly vegetarian, non-smoking, and not obese? Learn about why heart disease is so prevalent and so severe in South Asians, and what one can do about preventing heart disease. Review the evidence around the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) based prevention program at the South Asian Heart Center and how you can incorporate them to reduce your risk of a heart attack. Get answers to your favorite questions. What diet will work for you? How much and what kind of exercise should you be doing? Can you reduce your cholesterol without medicines?

Ashish Mathur is the co-founder and executive director of the South Asian Heart Center, and is actively involved in promoting the awareness of the epidemic of heart disease within the community. Prior to leading the South Asian Heart Center effort, Ashish worked for over 25 years in the software industry. During this time, he has been a board member, entrepreneur, and an executive at many technology companies including Selectica, Pure Atria, Network Equipment Technologies, and ROLM Corporation. Ashish holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from IIT- Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and an M.S. in Computer Science from University of Southern California.

Dr. César Molina is a co-founder of the South Asian Heart Center. Dr. Molina obtained a Bachelors of Science from Boston College, and medical degree from Yale University. With a research fellowship from Yale, Dr. Molina wrote his M.D. thesis at the Joslin Clinic at Harvard University Medical School. Dr. Molina completed his medical, clinical pharmacology and cardiology training at Stanford University Medical Center. At Stanford, he was a member of the medical school faculty and a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar. In 1990, Dr. Molina established his cardiology practice at El Camino Hospital. Most recently, Dr. Molina has appeared in the international edition of CNN discussing the benefits of diet, exercise, and meditation in the treatment and prevention of coronary heart disease.