A South Asian heart health campaign
Your first heart attack should never be your first warning.
South Asians have the highest rate of heart disease of any group in the United States, and it strikes earlier. Screening finds it years before symptoms do.
Know your numbers before your heart tells you.
Stop the first heart attack
The numbers
Why this campaign exists
~50%
of heart attacks in South Asians happen before age 55, often in people who otherwise appear healthy.
Source: Stop the First, Primary Care Clinic of Texas
1 in 3
Nearly 1 in 3 people who suffer a heart attack die before ever reaching the hospital.
Source: Stop the First, Primary Care Clinic of Texas
4x
the risk of coronary artery disease versus the general US population.
Source: American Heart Association; Stanford South Asian Translational Heart Initiative
Half
of the world's cardiovascular deaths occur in South Asians, who are only a quarter of the world's people.
Source: University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine
The biology
Why South Asians are different
South Asians develop coronary artery disease earlier, more severely, and at lower body weight than other populations. A normal BMI and a clean-looking cholesterol panel can hide substantial risk.
Body composition plays a large part. South Asians carry more visceral fat around the organs and less muscle at the same weight, which drives insulin resistance and inflammation inside the arteries.
Normal weight is not the same thing as low risk.
Inherited factors matter too. Lipoprotein(a) is elevated in a large share of South Asians, and standard cholesterol panels do not measure it at all.
The practical consequence is simple: standard screening is not enough. Ask for the specific tests that reveal the risk you cannot see or feel.
Heart disease in South Asians often appears a full decade earlier than in other groups. Screening should start earlier too.
Start here
Most of these risk factors are silent. A checklist takes one minute.
Know your risk factors
Check every item that applies to you, then print or text the list and bring it to your next appointment.
Nothing checked yet. Work through the list above.
This checklist is educational. It is not a diagnosis or a risk score. Only a clinician can assess your risk.
Stop the First — my risk factor list
Tests to ask my provider about
- Lipid profile — LDL, HDL, VLDL
- HbA1c — Hemoglobin A1c
- Lp(a) — Lipoprotein(a)
- ApoB — Apolipoprotein B
- hs-CRP — High-sensitivity C-reactive protein
This checklist is educational. It is not a diagnosis or a risk score. Only a clinician can assess your risk.
For your provider
Ask your provider about these five tests
These are the tests that reveal South Asian heart risk that a standard panel can miss.
Lipid profile
LDL, HDL, VLDL
What it measures
The standard cholesterol panel.
Why it matters for South Asians
A baseline every adult should have. For South Asians it can read normal while other markers reveal hidden risk, so it should not be the only test you rely on.
HbA1c
Hemoglobin A1c
What it measures
Average blood sugar over the past two to three months.
Why it matters for South Asians
South Asians develop diabetes earlier and at lower body weight than other groups, so catching a rising blood sugar early matters a great deal.
Lp(a)
Lipoprotein(a)
What it measures
A largely inherited cholesterol particle standard panels miss.
Why it matters for South Asians
Elevated in roughly a quarter to a third of South Asians. Because the level is mostly genetic, this is usually a once-in-a-lifetime test.
ApoB
Apolipoprotein B
What it measures
Counts the actual number of artery-clogging particles.
Why it matters for South Asians
Two people with identical LDL can have very different ApoB, and very different risk. ApoB gives a truer picture of how many harmful particles are circulating.
hs-CRP
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein
What it measures
A marker of inflammation inside the arteries.
Why it matters for South Asians
Arterial inflammation drives plaque rupture, and cholesterol numbers alone do not show it.
$80 for all 5 tests above at any of the 4 Primary Care Clinic of Texas locations.
$79 CAC Coronary artery calcium score (when appropriate) at Plano Heart Hospital.
Ask your doctor whether these tests are right for you.
Find care
Screening near you in Dallas–Fort Worth
Primary Care Clinic of Texas offers screening at four locations across Dallas–Fort Worth. Call the location nearest you to ask about the five tests.
Lewisville
560 West Main Street, Suite 201
Lewisville, TX 75057972-221-6005Get directions — 560 West Main Street, Suite 201, Lewisville, TX 75057Plano
3900 American Drive, Suite 201
Plano, TX 75075972-596-6005Get directions — 3900 American Drive, Suite 201, Plano, TX 75075Arlington
719 North Fielder Rd.
Arlington, TX 76012817-225-3246Get directions — 719 North Fielder Rd., Arlington, TX 76012Dallas
10 Medical Parkway, #207
Farmers Branch, TX 75234214-378-6005Get directions — 10 Medical Parkway, #207, Farmers Branch, TX 75234
In the community
Events
Upcoming
Charity Night 2026
Saturday, October 10, 2026 · 5:00 PM
FUMC Ministry Center, Coppell, TX
Organized by Irving DFW Indian Lions Club. Fundraising for “Stop The First” Heart Attack Awareness, Primary Care Clinic, and Local Charity Projects. Tickets: $50.00.