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What is the South Asian Heart Center?
The South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital is the first center in the world focused on reducing the alarming rate of heart disease among South Asians. El Camino Hospital, an award-winning non-profit healthcare organization located in Silicon Valley, launched this initiative in fall 2004—bringing together over 80 innovative health and cardiac professionals, visionary South Asian community leaders, and concerned benefactors to lead a program addressing this critical health issue.
South Asian Heart Center envisions dramatic improvements in the heart health of South Asians, often saving lives, by empowering clients and healthcare providers with tailored best practices for detecting and treating this preventable disease.
In addition to community outreach and education for healthcare providers and South Asians, the Center will provide clients with critical access to advanced cardiac screening of “emerging” risk factors, personalized treatment plans, comprehensive referrals to diet and exercise wellness providers, and one-on-one case management.
The mission of the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital is to reduce the high incidence of coronary artery disease among South Asians, and save lives, through a comprehensive, culturally-appropriate program incorporating education, advanced screening, lifestyle changes, and case management.
 

What is coronary artery disease?
Coronary artery disease occurs when arteries supplying blood to the heart become hardened due to plaque buildup in the arterial lining. Untreated, the disease leads to decreased heart functioning, heart attack, and possibly death.
 
Why are we targeting South Asians?
Coronary artery disease is a global epidemic among South Asians—men and women who trace their origins from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. South Asians experience coronary artery disease at rates four times higher than any other race. Since the 1950’s, physicians and scientists have observed that South Asians have a significantly higher incidence of coronary artery disease. Originally described in South Asians living abroad in Singapore and England, South Asians throughout the world—including North America and urban India—have the disproportionate higher risk.
South Asians in the United States and in urban India suffer heart attacks at an earlier age, often without prior symptoms or warning. A study among Asian Indian men showed that half of all heart attacks in this population occur under the age of 50 years, and 25% under the age of 40.
Traditional risk factors fail to account for South Asians suffering heart attacks at a greater rate and an earlier age: this population does not have a higher incidence of cigarette smoking, obesity, hypertension, or high blood pressure—and nearly half are lifelong vegetarians who exercise regularly. As a result, conventional screening and treatment methods have proven inadequate.
The good news is that coronary artery disease is preventable and treatable. Laboratory tests can detect several additional risk factors that are better predictors. Unfortunately, few providers routinely screen South Asians men and women for these factors at the appropriate age for this population. The South Asian Heart Center is developing a tailored screening, prevention, and education program to improve heart health for South Asians.
 
Why is El Camino Hospital doing this?

El Camino Hospital is committed to community health issues, and can uniquely address this critical issue:

Several ECH South Asian physicians developed the idea and approached the hospital’s Foundation fundraising arm.
ECH is a nonprofit hospital, designed to invest its revenue back into the community in the form of community-based initiatives and programs such as this one. Another example is ECH’s free on-campus Rota Care Clinic that serves the low-income and uninsured.
Over 5% of patients who enter the hospital’s emergency room for a heart attack are South Asian.
The South Asian Heart Center will serve as a model for designing and administering tailored solutions to healthcare issues for other ethnic minorities.
 
Why do we need to secure charitable donations?
ECH is a not-for-profit organization. The hospital reinvests all revenue proceeds in community-based initiatives like the South Asian Heart Center. ECH’s support allows the Center to leverage additional gifts from individual community members, foundations, and corporations more efficiently.
What about non-South Asians?
The South Asian Heart Center is El Camino Hospital’s response to a health crisis unique to the South Asian population – a four-fold risk of heart disease compared to the general population. South Asians trace their origins to the countries of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. This epidemic impacts a significant 10-12% of the urban South Asian population worldwide. The Center’s program of early evaluation with advanced screening for heart disease, and prevention through lifestyle modification, is currently available to participants of South Asian descent in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Center will also provide information on advanced screening to other populations (non-South Asian) and refer them to their primary care physician (or recommend physicians in its network if they do not have one) who will evaluate their need for special evaluation and further treatment as required.
What happens after year five?
Currently, not all physicians prescribe these advanced tests. With increased education and awareness, more physicians will begin routinely prescribing them—and increasingly insurance companies will cover the costs. Ultimately, our goal is that patients will visit their physician for direct testing. In the longer term, the South Asian Heart Center will then continue to serve as a resource and wellness referral center for clients. We also hope to support replication to establish similar programs in other areas. Long-term, with screenings provided by physicians and covered by insurance, the Center will focus on support from the Hospital, corporate and foundation grants, and pharmaceutical companies to sustain wellness referrals and case management.
Who has been involved in designing the program?
Over 80 innovative health and cardiac professionals, visionary South Asian community leaders, and concerned benefactors have come together to lead the Center’s program addressing this critical health issue. The South Asian Heart Center leadership is also collaborating with local temples, community centers, and healthcare organizations in the Bay Area to ensure the program’s success.
 
Why are we providing the screenings? Why can’t people go to their physicians for them?
A significant lack of awareness about disparate rates of coronary artery disease for South Asians exists among physicians in the healthcare community. Healthcare providers are limited in their ability to focus on every critical issue for all population groups. Our Center will serve as resource center for many physicians by offering a physician advisory committee available to respond to questions and concerns about coronary artery disease among South Asians. A surprising few healthcare providers have adequate information on needed testing for “emerging” risk factors. We must help providers understand by sharing best practice tools and guidelines. Therefore, the Center will offer screenings over the next five years until a majority of healthcare providers in the Bay Area have been educated.
 
Why are we helping the South Asian population since they are a very affluent group?
The dilemma with coronary artery disease is that it is undetected and symptom free until it is too late, and no amount of affluence helps saves lives. South Asians everywhere, including the U.S. and India, are facing this health epidemic at all levels of economic status, and need our help in early diagnosis, healthcare planning and management. The Center aims to address this issue in Silicon Valley, and then to replicate the program locally, nationally, and internationally.
 
Why does the Center need $4.3 million over the first five years?
Staff compensation and marketing constitute the largest portion of the budget to help support and execute the two main components of the program: clinical and educational. The annual budget of less than $1M allows the Center to educate the community on this critical healthcare issue, and helps to screen clients as they begin the path towards a healthy heart lifestyle. Further, the Center fills a widening gap in healthcare. Physicians do not have time to sit down and talk to their patients about their lifestyle, diet, and exercise. The SAHC model involves taking the time to talk with each client that visits the Center, assessing their risk, and sending best practice tools and guidelines back to the clients and their doctors. SAHC's clinical undertaking of in-person client visits and follow-up for screening, education, and lifestyle changes utilizes large percentage of the overall budget. By decreasing coronary artery disease risk factors among this population it will serve as an entrée for physicians on the importance of these tests, help insurance companies realize the benefits of covering the costs for these tests, and improve the overall health of our community.
 
Do Insurance companies cover these tests?
Currently, Medicare does cover the tests, but not all insurance companies do. In addition, insurance companies cover these tests if and only if a physician requests them. As awareness, education, and outreach increase, physicians will begin routinely prescribing these tests, and insurance companies will then cover the costs. Clients will no longer have to come to the Center for these tests, as they will be able to access them directly from their physicians.