,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #caca  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #e1 #bjai,ms4  
,jayapal 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,wilson of  
,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1    
,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mr4   
,khanna1 ,ms4 ,gabbard1 ,mr4 ,smith of  
,washington1 ,ms4 ,meng1 ,mr4 ,smith of 
,new ,jersey1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1   
,mr4 ,foster1 ,mr4 ,bera1 ,mr4          
,espaillat1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mr4    
,krishnamoorthi1 and ,ms4 ,schakowsky7  
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,commerce  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the 
,public ,health ,service ,act to provide
 for research and improvement of        
cardiovascular health among the ,south  
,asian population of the ,united        
,states1 and for other purposes4  #a4   
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,south ,asian ,heart ,health        
,awareness and ,research ,act of #bjai4 
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3  7#a7 ,the ,south ,asian     

diaspora population in the ,united      
,states is primarily from ,india1       
,pakistan1 ,bangladesh1 ,nepal1 ,bhutan1
 ,sri ,lanka1 ,fiji1 ,maldives1 ,east   
,africa1 the ,west ,indies1 and the     
,caribbean4  7#b7 ,heart disease refers 
to several types of heart conditions2   
the most common form is coronary artery 
disease1 which affects blood flow to the
 heart4  7#c7 ,heart disease is the     
leading cause of death for both men and 
women--one in every #d deaths each year1
 according to the ,centers for ,disease 
,control and ,prevention4  7#d7 ,risk   
factors for heart disease include       
diabetes1 high blood pressure1 smoking1 
and abnormal cholesterol levels4  7#e7  
,though the traditional ,south ,asian   
diet consists of lentils1 vegetables1   
grains1 and spices1 there is higher     
consumption of suboptimal nutritional   
elements including refined              
carbohydrates1 trans fats1 and sugar    
that have been associated with higher   
risk of type #b diabetes and            

cardiovascular disease4  7#f7 ,south    
,asians in the ,united ,states have four
 times the risk of heart disease than   
the general population and have a much  
greater chance of having a heart attack 
before age #ej1 according to the        
,stanford ,south ,asian ,translational  
,heart ,initiative4  7#g7 ,in addition1 
diabetes is one of the strongest risk   
factors for heart disease2 ,south ,asian
 ,americans have among the highest rates
 of type #b diabetes in the ,nation4    
7#h7 ,a ,mediators of ,atherosclerosis  
in ,south ,asians ,living in ,america   
7,,masala7 showed a #bf-percent         
prevalence of diabetes among ,south     
,asians1 compared to #f percent among   
,whites1 #ah percent among              
,african-,americans1 #ag percent among  
,latinos1 and #ac percent among         
,chinese-,americans in the              
,multi-,ethnic ,study of                
,atherosclerosis4  7#i7 ,early          
intervention and treatment through      
awareness campaigns1 nutritional        

education1 and instruction on physical  
activity can greatly reduce the burden  
of diabetes1 risk of heart disease1     
decreased quality of life1 and untimely 
death4  7#aj7 ,successful efforts to    
prevent and combat heart disease in the 
,south ,asian population of the ,united 
,states can serve as a model for the    
general population4  #c4 ,south ,asian  
heart health promotion grants by        
,centers for ,disease ,control and      
,prevention ,title ,,iii of the ,public 
,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4    
#bda et seq47 is amended by adding at   
the end the following new section3      
#cag,u4 ,south ,asian heart health      
promotion grants  7a7 ,in general ,the  
,secretary1 acting through the ,director
 of the ,centers for ,disease ,control  
and ,prevention1 shall make grants to   
,states for the purpose of promoting    
awareness of the increasing prevalence  
of heart disease1 including its         
relationship to type #b diabetes1 in    
,south ,asian communities in the ,united

 ,states4  7b7 ,use of funds ,a ,state  
that receives a grant under paragraph   
7#a7 shall use such grant funds-- 7#a7  
to establish an ,internet clearinghouse 
to catalog existing evidence-based heart
 health research and treatment options  
for ,south ,asian communities to        
prevent1 treat1 or reverse heart disease
 and diabetes2  7#b7 to develop         
culturally appropriate materials on     
topics such as nutrition education1     
optimal diet plans1 and programs for    
regular exercise2  7#c7 to support heart
 health promotion activities of         
community organizations that work with  
or serve ,south ,asian communities2 or  
7#d7 to support conferences or workshops
 on research practices1 methodology1 and
 design to include more members of      
,south ,asian communities in scientific 
studies4  7c7 ,annual report to congress
 ,not later than #ahj days after the    
date of the enactment of the ,south     
,asian ,heart ,health ,awareness and    
,research ,act of #bjai1 and annually   

thereafter1 the ,director shall submit  
to ,congress a report on outreach       
efforts and data relating to heart      
disease in ,south ,asian communities in 
the ,united ,states4  7d7 ,authorization
 of appropriations ,for purposes of     
carrying out this section1 there is     
authorized to be appropriated #a1jjj1jjj
 for each of fiscal years #bjbj through 
#bjbd4  4  #d4 ,heart health research by
 ,national ,institutes of ,health and   
,national ,heart1 ,lung1 and ,blood     
,institute ,part ,b of title ,,iv of the
 ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db     
,u4,s4,c4 #bhd et seq47 is amended by   
adding at the end the following new     
section3  #dji,k4 ,heart health research
  7a7 ,in general ,for the purpose of   
conducting research and related         
activities with respect to              
cardiovascular disease1 type #b         
diabetes1 and other heart health-related
 ailments among ,south ,asian           
communities in the ,united ,states1 the 
,director of the ,national ,institutes  

of ,health1 in coordination with the    
,director of the ,national ,heart1      
,lung1 and ,blood ,institute--  7#a7 may
 conduct or support1 through funding    
opportunity announcements1 grants1 or   
cooperative agreements1 basic1 clinical1
 and translational research2 and  7#b7  
may award grants and cooperative        
agreements to public or nonprofit       
private entities 7including ,state      
health departments1 political           
subdivisions of ,states1 universities1  
and other medical or education          
entities74  7b7 ,authorization of       
appropriations ,for purposes of carrying
 out this section1 there is authorized  
to be appropriated #a1jjj1jjj for each  
of fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbd4  4 
#e4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense
 of ,congress that medical schools in   
the ,united ,states that are accredited 
by the ,liaison ,committee on ,medical  
,education should include as part of    
their nutrition curriculum a focus on   
cultural differences in diets and ways  

to achieve optimal nutrition in         
communities that experience substantial 
heart disease4