Mountain View, Calif. – March 23, 2018 – On Saturday, March 17, 2018, more than 320 philanthropists, physicians, and community leaders came together for the Scarlet Ball, an annual gala to benefit the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital. The fundraising event, which was held at the Dolce Hayes Mansion, raised more than $348,000 to support the Center's work.
A commendation letter from the 19th Surgeon General of the United States Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, was shared at the event recognizing the South Asian Heart Center staff, volunteers, and supporters for their lofty vision for improving the health of the South Asian community. Dr. Murthy stated, “You saw that heart disease was disproportionately affecting South Asians, leading to heart attacks, disability, and lives lost. You also recognized that many of these tragic events could have been prevented if only evidence-based prevention measures had been brought to the community in a culturally appropriate manner. Admirably, you took it upon yourself to build an institution that would close the gap between what our community had and what it needed to prevent disease and save lives.”
Congressmember Ro Khanna and Assemblymember Ash Kalra attended the event, and presented the South Asian Heart Center with certificates of recognition for outstanding work in reducing heart disease and diabetes among South Asians.
Since opening its doors in 2006, the South Asian Heart Center has dedicated its resources to increasing awareness and prevention of diabetes and heart attacks in South Asians, and research to improve risk prediction and reduction in this vulnerable population. To date, the Center has enrolled more than 7,800 participants in its culturally appropriate AIM to PreventTM and STOP-DTM programs, educated more than 3,000 physicians, reached out to more than 80,000 community members, published its findings in peer-reviewed journals, and opened satellite offices in Fremont and Los Gatos.
“The four little secrets that have helped us improve health outcomes for our participants are Meditation, Exercise, Diet, and Sleep – what we call our MEDSTM lifestyle platform. This enabling platform forms the basis of the Center’s education curriculum, expert lifestyle counseling, and personalized health coaching to help stop diabetes and halt heart attacks,” says Ashish Mathur, executive director of the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital. “Through the ideal daily practice of MEDS, we’ve seen 68% of our participants lose weight, 62% improve their cholesterol ratio, and 71% improve their HbA1c.”
Building off the importance of developing a healthy lifestyle, keynote speaker Munjal Shah, a successful entrepreneur and South Asian Heart Center participant, shared his story of determination to get healthy. After Shah sold his company Like.com to Google in 2010, he had a heart attack scare. He modified his diet and lost 40 pounds and through the process, realized he had a passion for digital health and healthy living. Shah now focuses his entrepreneurial energies in this direction and co-founded Health IQ in 2013. As part of his keynote, Shah quizzed the Scarlet Ball attendees on how much they knew about aspects of a healthy lifestyle and challenged them to evaluate their health literacy.
The gala also featured a live auction, heart-healthy cuisine by Chef Vittal Shetty of Jalsa Catering, entertainment, and dancing.