Heart disease is the leading killer of adults nationwide, and South Asians, the second fastest-growing ethnic group in America, have a higher death rate from the disease than any other ethnic group. For the last seven years, a team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Northwestern University has followed more than 900 South Asians in Chicago and the Bay Area. Their ongoing study, known as MASALA, for Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America, has found that South Asians tend to develop high blood pressure, high triglycerides, abnormal cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes at lower body weights than other groups. Heart risks tended to be greatest in South Asians, the MASALA researchers found. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the first Indian-American woman to serve in the House, recently introduced a bill to provide more funding for South Asian heart health awareness and research.

Source: bd News24 February 18, 2019 19:07 UTC