Katy Dickinson

Heart Health and Lincoln

Dr. Cesar Molina, Medical Director of the South Asian Heart Center of El Camino Hospital, came to Sun's Menlo Park campus today to talk about heart health. This is the second talk I set up as part of CTO Greg Papadopoulos' sponsorship of Silicon Valley Heart Walk 2007 by the American Heart Association. The Heart Walk will be held this Sunday morning, 16 September at De Anza in Cupertino. Go to the Sun's Company Page to sign up as a Sun Heart Walker or to make a donation to support one of our teams.

Dr. Molina's talk was fascinating and passionate and funny. He built his case for life changes (no smoking, regular exercise, eat more fruits and vegetables, achieve a healthy weight) from both detailed analysis of medical studies and from less conventional sources of wisdom. My favorite was this quote from President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865):

Do not worry; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; be courteous to your creditors; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy; but, my friend, these I reckon will give you a good lift.

Dr. Molina talked about many aspects of health with examples drawn from both the general American context but also from the culture and population of South Asians. I had asked the Heart Association to invite someone who could speak particularly to Sun's Engineering population, which includes many South Asians. Before today, I had not been aware that Coronary Artery Disease strikes South Asians at a four-fold rate compared to the general population. This holds true even for lifelong vegetarians who do not smoke and are not overweight. Even though I hosted the talk, I was surprised at how much I learned.

Posted at 11:48PM Sep 12, 2007 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |