Indian Americans Carry an Elevated Risk of Suffering from Coronary Heart Disease

Indian Americans and Filipinos carry an elevated risk of suffering from coronary heart disease compared to other sub-groups, a recent research has revealed. Japanese and Chinese-Americans have lower chances of suffering from the same disease, but have higher chances of suffering from a stroke.

"Available research shows that sub-groups of Asian-Americans are at increased risk of complications and death from cardiovascular disease. Asian-Americans are often studied as a group, which masks the differences within this heterogeneous population," claimed Dr. Latha Palaniappan, chair of the American Heart Association's Scientific Advisory on Cardiovascular Disease in Asian Americans.

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While admitting that more research is needed on cardiovascular disease in Asian-Americans, as there are marked differences in heart disease risk and occurrence in this group, Dr. Palaniappan further said Asian-Americans represent 25 percent of all foreign-born people in the US and are projected to reach nearly 34 million by 2050.

Major federal surveys have only recently started to classify Asian Americans into seven sub-groups: Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and Other Asian. The first six sub-groups together constitute more than 90 percent of Asian Americans in the U.S., according to the statement.

Palaniappan and her colleagues reviewed published research on Asian Americans and cardiovascular disease, then identified gaps in knowledge and made recommendations.

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"Looking at this more closely gives us opportunities to improve health disparities among Asian-Americans," Dr. Palaniappan said, adding: "We need changes in data collection."

Among the recommendations made were: (1) Separating Asian Pacific Islanders into appropriate groups for more accurate disease characterization; (2) Developing standard Asian-specific measurement tools for things such as acculturation; (3) Researchers should "over-sample" Asian-Americans in population-based and clinical trials to ensure that they are well-represented.