South Asians Face Higher Risk of Heart Disease

New study looks at cardiovascular risk by ethnicity

28 April 2010

Researchers studied the prevalence of heart disease and stroke in four ethnic groups: whites, Chinese, South Asians and blacks all living in Ontario province, Canada.

Cardiovascular disease kills some 17 million people each year, and about 80 percent of these deaths occur in the developing world. Not every country is affected equally. But when scientists study populations in different countries, their results are influenced by a mix of culture, environment, and genetics.

A new study tries to sort out some of those factors.

A closer look at four ethnic groups

Researcher Maria Chiu and her colleagues studied the prevalence of heart disease and stroke in four ethnic groups: whites, Chinese, South Asians and blacks all living in Ontario province, Canada. They used data collected in national and community health surveys from 1996 to 2007.

Although all were living in the same place and had access to universal healthcare, Chiu found striking differences. Her analysis showed that more than one in 20 South Asians suffered from heart diseases, compared to around only one in 30 among the Chinese and black populations.

Chiu notes that those three ethnic and racial groups comprise 60 percent of the world population. "So it is important that we understand how these groups are, in terms of their heart health. And this study in Canada allows us to do that in a more controlled environment where everyone is living within the same physical environment as well as having access to universal healthcare."