title: South Asian ethnicity and cardiovascular risk: the known, the unknown, and the paradox.
abstract: South Asians (SAs), in their countries or after migration, are at high risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and mortality compared to other ethnic groups. It has been shown that >90% of CAD global risk could be attributed to 9 modifiable risk factors (RFs) worldwide. However, these conventional RFs may not fully explain this high risk of CAD among SAs. Therefore, attention has been directed toward nonconventional RFs. In this narrative review, we evaluate the conventional and emerging cardiovascular RFs characterizing SAs. These factors may explain the high morbidity and mortality among SAs. Further prospective studies are urgently needed to set algorithms for the optimal management of these RFs in high-risk populations like SAs.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar Cardiology Department, National Heart Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Emad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical School, Doha, Qatar Clinical Research, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar Cardiology Unit, Internal Medicine, Ahmed Maher Teaching Hospital, Cairo, Egypt aymanco65@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Menyar
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D044466:Asian People; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style / Q000208:ethnology; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: South Asian; cardiovascular risk factors; ethnicity