The Heart of Prevention is a podcast that helps clinicians stay up to date on preventive cardiology. Hosted by Cardiovascular Disease Fellow Keerthana Pakanati, MD, each episode features leading experts discussing real-world strategies to prevent heart disease, from lifestyle changes like diet and exercise to medical treatments , including new therapies. This podcast explores emerging research, innovative technologies, and patient-centered approaches, giving listeners actionable tools for their practice. We bring in experts actively shaping the field, ensuring the latest, most practical insights. Whether you're a medical student, resident, or practicing clinician, this podcast challenges, informs, and enhances your approach to cardiovascular prevention.
South Asians face one of the highest burdens of premature cardiovascular disease worldwide, yet many remain underrecognized by traditional risk assessment tools. In this episode of The Heart of Prevention, host Dr. Keerthana Pakanati is joined by Dr. Anurag Mehta (Emory University) and Dr. Mazhar Afaq (University of Kansas Health System), Co-Chairs of the South Asian Prevention Network at the American Society for Preventive Cardiology (SAPNA), for an insightful discussion on improving cardiovascular prevention in this high-risk population.
Together, they explore the unique "South Asian phenotype," why conventional risk calculators may underestimate risk, and how clinicians can better identify cardiometabolic disease through family history, metabolic risk factors, and culturally informed care. The conversation also highlights the challenges of dietary counseling, the impact of cultural beliefs on healthcare engagement, successful community-based prevention initiatives, and the critical research gaps that remain.
Whether you're a clinician caring for South Asian patients or simply interested in advancing equitable cardiovascular prevention, this episode provides practical, evidence-based strategies to improve early detection, risk assessment, and long-term heart health. Tune in to learn how personalized, culturally informed prevention can help close disparities and improve cardiovascular outcomes for South Asian communities.
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