Ranjna Patel (L) at the Swaminarayan Temple in Papatoetoe, Auckland, where the event will be held (File photo). Photo: RNZ / Lynda Chanwai-Earle
A South Asian community event in Auckland on Saturday will seek to raise awareness about heart health.
The half-day event offers an opportunity for the community to come together for a free medical check-up, along with Bollywood dance sessions and other activities.
Titled My Health Journey, the event is being hosted by the Swaminarayan Temple Trust and the Heart Foundation.
Recent studies have indicated that cardiovascular diseases, including diabetes, account for 17 percent of health loss among people living in New Zealand. In 2018, the Health Ministry recommended that individuals of Indian ethnicity in New Zealand undergo cardiovascular risk assessment 10 years earlier than New Zealand Europeans.
"When we go back to the last consensus guideline or statement that we put together in 2018, I think we recognized that the burden of disease was higher in South Asians, as well as Māori and Pacific people, by recommending that we actually perform cardiovascular risk assessment at an earlier age," Heart Foundation medical director Gerry Devlin said.
"What does that mean? It means men at age 30 and women at age 40, which is 15 years younger than Europeans, for example, who reside in New Zealand," Devlin said. "So, it's recognizing the burden of disease and the fact that it occurs at a younger age."
A report in 2020 highlighted the ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk, revealing that Māori, Pacific and Indian people bear the greatest burden of cardiovascular diseases and associated risk factors in New Zealand. Notably, Indian men have the highest rate of previous coronary heart disease among all ethnic groups.
Experts have identified several lifestyle factors contributing to this surge in cardiovascular diseases.
"Those risk factors typically relate to diet. They relate to Type 2 diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol and a family history - so genetics," Devlin said.
From crisis to wellness
"Our healthcare sector currently faces all sorts of restraints and constraints ... they are struggling," he says. "I think our current model is very much a crisis model, and I believe it needs to change to a wellness model."
Devlin believed increasing awareness about chronic diseases among healthy individuals was crucial in preventing future health complications.
Dr Gerry Devlin. Photo: Supplied / NZ Heart Foundation
"It's about being proactive about our health and not just waiting until there's a problem, and that's the big challenge we all have in improving heart health," he said.
He also thought diet and exercise play an important role.
"Diet, I believe, is huge," he said. "There are lots of things there that we can hopefully influence favourably. Exercise, how much exercise? Any exercise is better than none. More is better than a little."
Community events
Ranjna Patel, trustee of the Swaminarayan Temple and founder of Tāmaki Health, said community events such as My Health Journey Day are essential platforms for community health advocacy.
"It's vital to have community health advocates for good health purely because there are a lot of barriers to accessing the health system, and if there isn't an outlet for the general community to voice their little concerns, then they become bigger before they come to the attention of the medical professionals," she says.
She believed events such as this helped identify health issues early on and provided an outlet for the general community to voice their concerns.
"Every time I've done these health days, I've found two or three people who get diagnosed with diabetes, you know, that they never knew," Patel said.
Devlin highlights the importance of awareness.
"We need to increase awareness using resources that are culturally appropriate," he said. "I think engaging with the community about what's important to them is, you know, really important.
My Health Journey will be held from 10am to 12pm on 17 June in Papatoetoe, Auckland.