Park Ridge Herald Advocate: Doctor Calls Heart Disease Epidemic in South Asian Community

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.

You can learn more about the center and the risk of South Asians for heart disease in the Park-Ridge Herald Advocate,