[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 128 (Friday, July 28, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H6561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SOUTH ASIAN HEART HEALTH AWARENESS AND RESEARCH ACT

  (Ms. JAYAPAL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, today, with Congressman Joe Wilson of South 
Carolina, I am introducing bipartisan legislation to raise awareness 
regarding the alarming rate at which the South Asian community is 
developing heart disease and to invest in ways to reverse the trend.
  Coming from countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri 
Lanka, and Nepal, South Asians are the sixth largest and fastest 
growing ethnic group in the Nation.
  Despite a traditional diet that is high in lentils, vegetables, 
grains, and spices, heart disease is on the rise in these communities. 
A Stanford study has found that South Asians have a four times greater 
risk of developing heart disease than the general population and have a 
much greater risk of having a heart attack before the age of 50. 
Coupled with the prevalence of diabetes in the South Asian community, 
something needs to be done. That is why we are introducing the South 
Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act.
  Specifically, our bill will create grants at the CDC, NIH, and USDA 
to fund heart health research and promotion among South Asian 
populations. We hope, through doing this, that we can help save lives, 
develop tools, and support valuable research that can broadly benefit 
the American public.

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