Risk Factors for Early Myocardial Infarction in South Asians Compared With Individuals in Other Countries

Abstract

The South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal account for about a quarter of the world's population and contribute the highest proportion of the burden of cardiovascular diseases compared with any other region globally.^1-3 South Asian migrants living in several countries have higher death rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) at younger ages compared with the local population despite apparently lower levels of conventional risk factors.^4-8 Deaths related to cardiovascular disease also occur 5 to 10 years earlier in South Asian countries than they do in Western countries.^9,10 This has raised the possibility that South Asians exhibit a special susceptibility for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) that is not explained by traditional risk factors.