Why do South Asians suffer more heart attacks?

South Asians make up a quarter of the world's population. Researchers already know that South Asians tend to have heart attacks at a younger age than those from the rest of the world. Now researchers have found the reason for this.

Jacob Joseph, 57, of Indian descent living in North America, has suffered from cardiovascular problems in the past 4 years. He had Indian friends who started with heart disease even earlier. He said: 'I was told this morning that a person only 35 or 36 years old had a heart attack.'

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms that people from India and other countries in South Asia suffer from heart attacks earlier. Dr. Salim Yusuf of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario, Canada, one of those researchers, said: 'The average age that South Asians suffer from heart attacks is 53 or 54, while In other parts of the world, that age is 58 or 59. '

Dr. Salim Yusuf (Photo: meducator)

This difference raises the question as to whether South Asians are particularly susceptible to heart attacks that cannot be explained by familiar pathogens such as smoking, lack of exercise, and diet. drink poorly and increase cholesterol.

To identify the cause, Dr. Yusuf and his colleagues reviewed data of more than 27,000 people from South Asia and other parts of the world. They had an answer 8 years after the first volunteer was selected. 'The reason why South Asians suffer from heart disease at an earlier age is because many of them have harmful cholesterol and unfavorable cholesterol.'

Dr. Yusuf said there may be some biological reasons that cannot be explained for this, even though a poor diet seems to play a role. He pointed out that in dishes such as curry, because vegetables are often cooked for too long, they lose their healthy substances, and that South Asians always keep this habit no matter where they migrate. half.

However, elevated cholesterol is not the only risk factor for disease in South Asia. The results also showed that when they were at home, they also had diabetes, high blood pressure, tobacco use, depression and more stress.

Dr. Yusuf said migrating to North America made this problem worse. He said: 'I think immigrant South Asians have come to North America even more at risk of heart disease than those who live in their homeland because they are more urbanized.'

He advised them to take healthy food, exercise, avoid tobacco, and routine health checks. According to him, 'These are useful, general advice that we often advise people, but in South Asia, these advice are more meaningful.'

Hong Linh