💛 The Silent Heart Crisis in South Asians

This episode of The Breast Cancer Podcast is deeply personal to me. I am grateful that Dr. Mubin Syed joined me on this podcast to share his expertise and knowledge on Cardiovascular Disease in South Asians.

I lost my mom to complications of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. And looking back, I often wonder:
👉 What did we miss?
👉 What did we not know sooner?
That’s why I wanted to have this conversation.
In this episode, we discuss an important reality that many people still don’t realize:

⚠️ South Asians are at higher risk for heart disease and diabetes—often at younger ages and even at “normal” body weights.

We talk about:
✔️ Why cardiovascular disease happens earlier in South Asians
✔️ What “skinny fat” really means
✔️ Why normal BMI and labs can sometimes be misleading
✔️ Genetics, lifestyle, and cultural factors
✔️ The intersection between breast cancer survivorship and heart health
✔️ Most importantly—what we can actually do to reduce risk

One of the most important takeaways:
👉 You can look healthy on the outside and still carry significant risk on the inside.
But there is hope.
Through earlier awareness, screening, lifestyle changes, and better conversations within our families and communities, we can change outcomes.
I can’t change my mom’s story.
But my hope is that this conversation helps someone else change theirs.

Author Bio:
Mubin Syed, MD, is a nationally recognized physician with 30 years experience, specializing in endovascular therapy. He is also a health historian and a medtech entrepreneur holding 28 patents. He is the author of a medical guide on pain treatment and Healing From Our History: How Colonial-Era Famines Led to a Modern South Asian Health Crisis. His mission to help South Asians improve their health led to a TEDx Talk, and features in CNN International/The Guardian, HuffPostUK, Indian Express International, The Juggernaut, and Brown History
Podcast.

For interviews, email: [email protected]
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Website: www.desidocmd.com/
Healing From Our History by Dr. Mubin Syed is available now!
https://store.bookbaby.com/book/healing-from-our-historyhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F4MBFFK3

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