The South Asian Heart Center is the first major non-profit response to the growing epidemic of heart disease (coronary artery disease or CAD) among people from the Indian sub-continent. Men and women in this population are at four times the risk of coronary artery disease compared to other ethnicities - despite often being vegetarian, non-smoking, and lacking other traditional risk factors. In fact, the disease follows a more rapid, severe and malignant course in this group, with 50% of heart attacks or strokes occurring before the age of 50, almost ten
to fifteen years earlier than people from other areas.

In early 2004, El Camino Hospital, a community non-profit organization based in Silicon Valley, California,initiated the concept of a prevention program to help stem this epidemic. While South Asians made up only 3% of the hospital district clientele, they represented an alarmingly high 6% of the acute coronary artery syndrome cases reported during a three-year period.

Since 2006, the Center has been offering a screening program with
cardiovascular risk assessment and stratification, programs for lifestyle modification, and on-going heart-health coaching for its participants. The Center has developed the AIM prevention methodology (Assessment,Identification, and Management) to address the unmet clinical need for aggressive screening and risk factor modification in this high-risk community, while educating participants and physicians in the process. It does not medically manage patients, but serves as a resource for physicians and their patients to obtain more
extensive risk assessment and counseling. The Center aims to be a global center of excellence, to help stem the worldwide heart disease epidemic through prevention, and when necessary, treatment. In pursuing this vision, it aims to forge a commitment and partnership between South Asian community members, healthcare professionals, and corporate employers.
The Center envisions receiving support from volunteer leadership and staffing; financial contributions from community leaders and Center participants, foundation and corporate grants; employee giving campaigns sponsored by corporations; and fees from medical and corporate establishments utilizing the Center's program and services. For further details visit www.southasianheartcenter.org or call (650) 940-7242.