RKT HEART HEALTH & CARDIOLOGY SYMPOSIUM

Led by Dr. Zahid Ahmad, MD, Associate Professor in the Division of Endocrinology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, this free symposium is an opportunity to assess your own heart and cardiovascular health, tap into a wealth of knowledge about prevention of heart disease, and inspire yourself to take on your own personal heart health challenge.

Dr. Ahmad is part of UT Southwestern Medical Center which has been recognized by US News & World Report as one of the nation’s top 15 hospitals for cardiology and heart surgery. Dr. Ahmad’s research aims to identify the causes of cholesterol and triglyceride disorders and to develop new treatment options for patients who suffer from them.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Ahmad and his colleagues currently are working to identify families with these conditions in an effort to better understand their underlying genetic causes – and, ultimately, to improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Ahmad has published a number of scholarly articles and delivered many invited lectures.

Program Timings: 

WHY ATTEND?

• Learn about the heart and its amazing functions
• Understand what cholesterol means for your heart health
• Learn new research on lipid metabolism and
• Gain a new appreciation and get inspired to take better care of your heart
• Assess your heart health and learn ways to improve heart health
• Heart health is critical for a happy life
• Without proper knowledge of heart health, the effects of heart disease can sneak up on you or your loved one 
• About 1 in 5 deaths each year are caused by heart disease, that’s nearly a million people every year in the US alone
• South Asians, particularly Indians, living in the US are more likely to die from heart disease than the general population
• research has proven that Indians develop heart disease up to a decade earlier than the general population 
• over 70% of children in the US have poor heart health according to renown cited in June 2022 issue of Circulation.
• why wait for heart disease to strike you or your loved one when it can be prevented? 

WHO CAN ATTEND?

The symposium is a free event organized as a community service to  benefit people of all ages.  Whether you are 5 or 80, you can never be too young or too old to learn to make your heart healthy.  After all, a healthy heart means a happy life! 

HEART HEALTH CHALLENGE:

Bring your kindergartner, your teens, your parents, or any age! Fun experiential age appropriate heart health learning activities.  A hands on way to learn about your body and heart health.

FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS:

The following free health screenings will be offered on a first come first served basis. Preregistration is recommended.

• Cholesterol Screening/Lipid Testing
• Blood Pressure Check
• A1C Hemoglobin/Blood Sugar Test
• Body Fat Analysis
• Personal Consultations
• Heart Healthy Diet Check with Live Cooking Demos

REGISTRATION:

To get seating for lecture, participate in the heart health challenge, and/or the screenings, we kindly request your timely registration for the event. While walk-ins are welcome if space is available, preregistered participants will have expedited entry and will get first priority for the free screenings and consultations. 
                
 

2 OPTIONS FOR REGISTRATION:

In Person

Online

KIDS HEART HEALTH CHALLENGE PROGRAM

It’s become a known statistic that 70% of kids and over 50% of all adults in the US have poor heart health. It’s never too early to start building the right habits to care for the heart. It all starts with awareness and knowledge. Learning about the heart and the importance of maintaining it can be fun and exciting. God as the Divine Architect has crafted the heart and it is absolutely amazing. The Heart Health Challenge is designed to inspire kids and grown ups to learn and grow in their understanding, appreciation and care for their heart. Everyone from your preschooler to grandma and inbetween can join in and learn how crucially important taking care of your heart health is for a long happy and healthy life.

What are you doing for you and your family’s heart health? Start here at the 2024 Family Heart Health and Cardiology Symposium to find out the roadmap to improving your health and longevity.

The symposium is free and has so much to offer: from access to recognized medical experts, live demonstrations and hands on science experiments, games, contests, quizzes all about your heart health as well as various individual health screenings, and medical consultation.

We encourage you and every member of your family to make your own personal heart health pledge and add it to the wall in the Heart Health Pledge Hall.

Kids Heart Health Challenge Activities: 

Age appropriate activities for ages 5 to adult include:

• Use Play Dough for Making Circulatory System - Learn How Ciriculatory System Works
• Make a Heart House – Learn about the chambers of your heart and what else is inside
• Build and Play a Circulatory System Game
• Make a Heart Model & Breath Into It
• Can You Beat Your Own Heart?  Compete with your heart – to understand how much volume it pumps in just a minute of time
• Listen to Your Heart by Stethoscope  & Make Your own Stethoscope
• Watch Your Pulse in Action Using A Marshmallow ! & Learn How to Check Your Pulse
• Demo – Learn the Dangers of Narrowed Veins & Arteries
• Jump Rope Contest– The Role of Fitness in Your Heart Health – How to Start
• Learn Heart Anatomy By Coloring – with Age Appropriate Coloring Challenges – Ages 5 to Teen
• Watch a Circulation and Heart Video By the Renown Bill Nye “The Science Guy”
• Add Your Personal Promise for Heart Health to the Kids Heart Health Pledge Wall

ABOUT DR. AHMAD, MD – SYMPOSIUM LEADER
 

Dr. Zahid Ahmad, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Endocrinology in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Endocrinology UT Southwestern Medical Center. He joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2010 and is American Board of Internal Medicine-certified in internal medicine, endocrinology, metabolism, and diabetes.  Dr. Ahmad specializes in lipid disorders.

Dr. Ahmad also has special expertise in treating patients unable to tolerate their cholesterol medications – an issue that affects up to 10 percent of patients prescribed these drugs.

“I’m motivated by helping people who no one else has been able to help, both in the clinic and through my research,” he says. “Our clinic is a referral center for the most complex patients – those experiencing the most problems with their lipid levels and their medications.” 

Active in investigating lipid disorders, Dr. Ahmad continues to build upon UT Southwestern’s Nobel Prize-winning discoveries in the field.

“Conducting research gives me a lot of insight into all the different cholesterol and triglyceride drugs, and it keeps me current on the most promising practices and ways of managing lipid disorders,” he says. “It also helps me facilitate patient enrollment in clinical trials of new, leading-edge medications.”

Dr. Ahmad was attracted to endocrinology because he has many family members who suffer from diabetes and early-onset cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Ahmad earned his medical degree at the Tulane University School of Medicine.

He completed both a residency (internal medicine) and a fellowship (endocrinology and metabolism) at UT Southwestern Medical Center – training in cholesterol metabolism and genetics with mentors Drs. Abhimanyu Garg, Scott Grundy, and Helen Hobbs.

He also holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering from the Tulane University School of Engineering.

Active in the FH Foundation, Dr. Ahmad also is a member of professional organizations that include the American Heart Association, Endocrine Society, National Lipid Association, and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

In 2019, Dr. Ahmad was named a Texas Monthly Super Doctor Rising Star.