(WXYZ) — Dr. Alison Thomas and Dr. Nicholas Kondoleon work at Corewell Health in Royal Oak. Both also attended Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, class of 2020.
"It's a school that's kind of built in a community, and everyone is very close to each other," said Dr. Kondoleon, Cardiology fellow, Corewell Health.
But some memories bring tears to their eyes.
"It still just doesn't feel real," said Dr. Thomas, OBGYN resident, Corewell Health.
Their classmate and dear friend, Dr. Erfan Faridmoayer, died of cardiac arrest last year in December. He was a 30-year-old general surgery resident in New York.
"He always had our back, always was comfortable with everyone around him. He definitely radiated joy," said Dr. Thomas.
"Someone who never stopped smiling," said Dr. Kondoleon.
Dr. Faridmoayer came to the US from Iran as an international student to complete his undergrad before attending med school.
"Erfan was working probably a hundred hours a week. You know busting his butt helping his patients. And so it's just hard to come to terms that we are not immortal. And we are young and healthy, and there are still things like this that can happen," said Dr. Thomas.
Family physician Dr. Asha Shahjahan started looking into why young West and South Asians are experiencing a higher mortality rate from a cardiac event after two of her close friends, 30 and 40 years old, died from a heart attack.
"So I found that South Asians tend to have heart disease about ten years earlier than other ethnic populations. And they have a 40% mortality. So basically, when you have your first heart attack in the South Asian population, you are more likely to die than get a stent and move forward," said Dr. Shahjahan.
Dr. Shajahan says West Asians also have an increased risk at younger ages, with most events occurring before the age of 50.
"There need to be more studies, but it's multifactorial in the sense that South Asians have been found to have more narrow vessels. The difference with the Asian population, it lumps together several different countries. And the results are skewed because Japan has the lowest rate of heart disease, also Korea and China, but there are several other Asian countries that are at a higher risk," said Dr. Shahjahan.
That's why Senator Cory Booker and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal are working on legislative changes to raise awareness and study the impact on Asian American minorities.
"The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is the leading cause of heart rate disease and is the highest among South Asians," said Sen. Booker.
"The bill specifically would provide grant funding to support some research to understand why some certain communities are disproportionally affected by heart disease and we think it would potentially lead to the discovery of life-saving therapeutics for all patients," said Congresswoman Jayapal.
According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for most racial and ethnic groups in the country.
Nationwide, one person dies every 33 seconds from cardiovascular disease.
While the South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act heads to President Biden's desk for approval, Dr. Thomas and Dr. Kondoleon are working with Oakland University to establish a scholarship in honor of Dr. Faridmoayer.
"We hope to award a scholarship to a student every year. Once we reach a certain amount the school will continue to fund it, so our goal is to reach that amount, so this endowment fund stays," said Dr. Thomas.
Click here to donate to the scholarship fund (https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1001/g20/form.aspx?sid=1001&gid=4&pgid=1902&cid=4186&bledit=1&dids=3948)
To learn more about the South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act click here: https://jayapal.house.gov/2023/07/26/jayapal-wilson-introduce-legislation-to-combat-high-rate-of-heart-disease-in-south-asian-americans/
Meanwhile, Dr. Shajahan says early screening and a healthy and active lifestyle are key to fighting heart disease.
