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In seeking ground-up understandings of heart health disparities facing low-income Malay women in Singapore, this paper locates their meanings of heart health. Their health narratives reveal the insidious communicative and structural barriers women face. The findings show how shame, conceptualized as malu, remains a barrier to accessing health and help structures. Everyday food insecurity and stress from caregiving while in impoverishment also undermine heart health equity. The intersections of gender and class reveal how caregiving can have a crippling effect on health outcomes in the low-income context. Low-income women face multiple burdens that impede heart health care and management. Women's heart health interventions should heed how a culture of shame and structural manifestations of stress and food insecurity prevent women in low-income settings from seeking equitable health opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several population-based studies have been conducted to better understand the public knowledge of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and behavior. However, most studies have predominantly focused on Western populations. This study aimed to investigate heart disease knowledge, preventive behavior and source of information on heart disease in a multi-ethnic Asian population. We conducted a nation-wide population-based survey of 1000 participants of three ethnic groups (Chinese, Malay, Indian) in Singapore. A structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographics, knowledge on CVD risk factors, symptoms, emergency action, preventive health behaviors and sources of information on heart disease. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with the CVD knowledge and behavior. Knowledge on CVD risk factors was generally high. Knowledge on emergency actions was low particularly in younger people. More than 60% did not meet the recommended levels of physical activity, and this was more evident for individuals of overweight/obese status, lower education and workforce. Chinese were less likely to be obese/overweight compared to the Malays and Indians. Malays were less likely to seek information from internet and social media compared to their ethnic counterparts. This study highlighted heterogeneity in the levels of knowledge and health behavior across population segments, suggesting the need for a tailored approach to heart health interventions and optimal channels for information dissemination. Our findings will form the basis for contextually and culturally appropriate interventions to combat the growing CVD burden and prevent its toll on a rapidly ageing population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]