Ethnicity

Ethnicity or racial origin affects the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and heart disease.

Ethnicity and Your Heart

Chinese Descent

- Canadians of Chinese origin had strikingly low mortality rates for heart disease

African Descent

- African Americans seem to be at much greater risk of high blood pressure compared with other groups.

North American Indian and Hispanic Descent

- Some American Indian peoples have soaring rates of Type 2 diabetes, which is two to five times more common in Hispanics than non-Hispanic whites.

South Asian Descent

- Canadians of South Asian origin have a disproportionately high incidence of diabetes South Asians are three to five times more likely to have a heart attack or to die from heart disease.
- BMI cutoffs for weight-related risks in Caucasians of European heritage may give a false sense of security to people with Asian ancestry. The problem appears to be the way fat is accumulated. South Asians tend to add fat around the middle, even though they are not overweight by Western standards. Differences such as these are prompting some international health groups to adjust their screening tools.
Migrant Indians have an increased prevalence of atherosclerosis
- Risk of CVD in SE Asians appears to be 40% greater than the general population of England
- Southeast Asians may be more likely to have a first heart attack at age 52 as compared with age 62 for Europeans and age 63 for Chinese.

Much research being done to better understand the link between ethnicity and cardiovascular disease. If you are of the above ethnic origins, please discuss your risk factors with your family doctor and get on the path to prevention of heart disease.