Research Highlights*: Cardiovascular Disease and South Asians

*Research Highlights provide a summary of key information on health topics especially relevant to South Asian communities.

An Overview

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.2 million Asian Indians died from heart disease in 1990 (6).
By 2010, the WHO predicts that 25% of all cardiac patients in the world will be Asian Indian (6) .
South Asian immigrants in the United States have premature heart disease at three to four times the rate of other Americans (1) .

Compared to other Americans, Asian Indians have twice the risk of developing heart disease despite lower or equal prevalence of traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity (1) .
Studies in many Western countries have shown that South Asian immigrants have a higher risk of heart disease as compared to other members of the population. Some of the contributing factors include higher prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, low levels of HDL-cholesterol, high levels of LDL-cholesterol, increased plasma triglycerides and obesity (5).
South Asian families are less likely to engage in physical activity and have less knowledge of cholesterol and a heart healthy diet (3) .

South Asians have a higher prevalence of diabetes, especially at a younger age and in the absence of traditional risk factors such as obesity. This is especially important because research show that South Asians with diabetes are more likely to get heart disease (1) .

Unlike other groups, rates of heart disease among South Asian women are as high as South Asian men (1) .
Asian Indian and Pakistani women in the US are at higher CVD risk than other American women but may reduce their risk by increasing physical activity (2) .

While heart disease is generally thought of as disease affecting an older population, coronary artery disease in the South Asian population begins at an earlier age than in other populations (4).