Advancing South Asian Cardiovascular Health
Understanding Unique Risk Factors and Health Needs to Promote Shared Decision-Making
September 16-17, 2022
The Advancing South Asian Cardiovascular Health international conference brought together the voices of world-renowned experts in the field as well as patients and community members who live with heart disease in an effort to understand how collaborative decision-making can help improve heart health outcomes in South Asians in the United States. South Asians are among the fastest growing ethnic groups in the US, and show high rates of heart disease, as compared to other populations.
There is not enough research to examine their unique risks and develop effective ways to manage and care for their disease.
Conference Day Highlights & Sessions
Day 1 : September 16,2022
CVD Epidemic in South Asians: An Introduction to Mysteries and Hypotheses, Old and New
Dr. Raj Bhopal
CBE, DSc (hon), MD, BSc, MBChB, MPH, FRCP(E), FFPH
Emeritus Professor of Public Health Edinburgh Migration, Ethnicity and Health Research Group, Usher Institute, Medical School, University of Edinburgh
NIH Perspective: CV Health of South Asians in the United States.
Dr. Yuling Hong
MD, MSc, PhD, FAHA
Chief, Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, NHLBI, NIH
Impact of Large South Asian Community-Based Studies: Diabetes as a Risk Factor for CVD.
Dr. V. Mohan
MD, FRCP(London, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Ireland), PhD, DSc, D.c (Hon. Causa),FNASc, FASc, FNA, FACE, FACP, FTWAS, MACP, FRS (Edinburgh)
Chairman, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre of Excellence in Diabetes Care, Southern India
Panel: South Asian Patient & Family Voices
Session Moderator
Dr. Aparna Kalbag
PhD
ADA Perspective: CVD Health of South Asians.
Dr. Guillermo Umpierrez
MD, CDCES, FACE, MACP
President, Medicine & Science, American Diabetes Association
Lipids and CVD Risk in South Asians.
Dr. Daniel Rader
MD., FAHA
Chief, Division of Translational Medicine and Human Genetics; Associate Director, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics; Director, Preventive Cardiovascular Program. Seymour Gray Professor of Molecular Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, PA
South Asian Diet and Hypertension.
Dr. Arun Chockalingam
MS, PhD, FACC, FAHA
Professor of Medicine and Global Health, University of Toronto
Relationship of Genetics & Obesity to CVD in South Asians.
Dr. Alka Kanaya
MD
Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), CA
An International Approach to the Prevention of CVD in South Asians.
Dr. Salim Yusuf.
DPhil, FRCPC, FRSC, OC
Heart and Stroke Foundation/Marion W. Burke Chair in Cardiovascular Disease Distinguished University Professor of Medicine McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
Day 2 : September 17,2022
AHA Perspective: CVD Health of South Asians.
Dr. Donald Lloyd- Jones
MD, ScM, FACC, FAHA
President, American Heart Association
Panel: Provider Perspectives on CVD Care in South Asians.
Session Moderator
Dr. Meena Murthy
MD, FACE
Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Nutrition and Metabolism
Director, Thyroid and Diabetes Center
Saint Peter’s University Hospital
New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Use of Big Data & CVD Prevention in South Asians.
Dr. Latha Palaniappan
MD, MS
Professor of Medicine (Primary Care and Population Health), Stanford University School of Medicine, CA
Heterogeneity of Risk Among Asians and SA's and the Role of Imaging for SACVD Risk Assessment in SA.
Dr. Salim Virani
MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA, FASPC
Professor in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research
Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Prevention of CVD: Lessons from a Community-based Screening Program for South Asians.
Ashish Mathur
BTech, MS
Co- Founder & Executive Director, South Asian Heart Center, El Camino Hospital, Mountain View, CA
AMA efforts on improving CVD care among South Asians.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala
MD
A board-certified otolaryngologist head and neck surgeon, was elected president of the American Medical Association June 2025.