Cardiovascular Disease

Immigrant Asian Indian men in the U.S.. have a high prevalence of

• coronary heart disease,

• non insulin dependent diabetes,

• lower high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels and hypertriglyceridemia.

All these have “insulin resistance’’ as a common pathogenetic mechanism, which seems to be the most important risk factor.

Cardiovascular disease is growing faster amongst Asian subgroups in the US. South Asians make up 25% of world population but make up 60% of world’s heart disease patients.