Running head: Health Impact Research Paper 1

Health Impact Framework/Research Paper

Cardiovascular Disease in South Asia

Cherie Boyer

Delaware Technical Community College

NUR 310 Global Health

Dr. Eyong

October 6th, 2021

Abstract

South Asia has the leading cause of cardiovascular disease in the world. With little to no

prevention due genetic anomaly. This puts the country at risk economically because this

country does have the best healthcare and with the population being affected at such a young
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age due to early cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is a serious medical emergency

and affects the world in a trameous way. Prevention and lifelong healthy eating and regular

exercising will be the determination of how back these heart diseases can get.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death globally, taking an estimate

of 17.9 million lives each year (WHO, 2021). Cardiovascular disease ranges from young to old.

The heart is considered the hardest working muscle in the body. It overall is the key component

in keeping the human body alive. When there is damage to the heart it is considered extremely

serious and the measures are handled in an immediate manner. When we think about

cardiovascular disease and the countries around the world, we never dig deep into why these

heart conditions are happening. When people think of a person that has had a heart attack the

first thing that may be assumed is that the person does not eat healthy, but what if there was

research information that can change the narrative that people with cardiovascular disease are

the result of being unhealthy.

When researching which country has the highest mortality rate due to cardiovascular

disease, to my surprise it was South Asia. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in

Asia (Dong, 2021). In 2019 more than 10.8 million deaths resulted in Asia from cardiovascular

disease (Dong, 2021). Asia holds half of the world's population and for the mortality rate of

cardiovascular disease to be so high this is concerning for that country because the cure is not a

quick fix. Asia is not a country known for eating fried foods and eating unhealthy so that is not

the factor in why cardiovascular disease is so high.

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Despite eating healthy and having good exercise habits, South Asians are genetically

born with a condition that puts them at a higher risk for having blood clots that affect the heart.

South Asian men are more prone to high levels of coronary artery calcium (O’Conner, 2019).

This is a condition that presents as atherosclerosis which results in heart attacks and strokes.

This is something that can not be changed because this is a genetic condition. They can reduce

the risk of having a heart attack but because they already have such a high level of calcium in

their body the risk of having a heart attack is still relatively high.

Although South Asians experience cardiovascular disease (CVD)

and risk factors at an early age, the distribution of CVD risks across

the socioeconomic spectrum remains unclear (Cardiol, 2016). Since

this is occurring at a much younger age it impacts families and them

getting the care they need.For families, this means impoverishment,

especially because most families lack formal life or health insurance

and must bear the social and financial debts of CVD either “out-of-

pocket” or by making other sacrifices (Moran, 2015). This is caused

genetically whether you are in the higher income poverty or lower

income poverty this condition can affect anyone that is born. There

was a study done called The CARRS study. This study was done to

analyze people in lower and higher income households by using the

Centre for Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia survey data.

This data analyzed the food behaviors in each group ranging in

multiple ages. For behavioural risk factors, low fruit/vegetable

intake, smoked and smokeless tobacco use were more prevalent in

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lowest education, wealthy and occupation (for men only) groups

compared to higher SES counterparts, while weight-related risks

(body mass index 25.0-29.9 and ≥30 kg/m(2); waist-to-height ratio

≥0.5) were more common in higher educated and wealthy groups, and

technical/professional men (Cardiol, 2016). As a result of the study it

showed that people with higher education and affluent groups had a

higher prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemias.

The New York Times did an article on a man that was confused about how he had a

heart attack. Although it wasn't fatal, he didn't understand how he could eat healthy and

exercise regularly and still have a heart attack. When in the hospital they ran blood tests and

showed he had the genetic anomaly of an increase of coronary artery calcium. Mahendra

Agrawal never imagined he would have a heart attack. He followed a vegetarian diet, exercised

regularly and maintained a healthy weight. His blood pressure and cholesterol levels were

normal (O’Conner, 2019). Although he was doing right by his body it still wasn’t enough to

prevent his heart attack from occurring. Calcium is a sign of how much fatty build-up (plaque) is

in your arteries, because this build-up contains calcium (Heart, 2021). Plaques in the arteries of

your heart are the main cause of heart attacks (Heart, 2021). Calcium deposits in the arteries

because the muscle cells in the blood vessel wall start to change into bone like cells when they

get old or diseased (Heart, 2021). Since Mr. Agrawal was already eating a pretty healthy diet

and exercising, changing his diet would not have changed his outcome since his body naturally

causes a buildup of calcium he was always at risk since birth. A lot of Asian decent men will

have this problem and when women get pregnant their levels tend to increase as well due to

carrying another human.

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Prevention is a continuous topic of discussion and treatment plans on how to limit the

risk of causing a stroke or heart attack. This is not only in South Asia, it is all over the world.

Education on foods to avoid and exercising will still continue even though these factors can only

minimize this happening in South Asia. To accomplish this would require robust and high-

quality nutrition research in this region. (Moran, 2015). The Mediterranean diet is what they

are mostly eating, which is avoiding foods with refined oils, refined grains, food with added

sugars such as pastas, sodas, candy and processed meats. Universal health insurance and

improved access to acute and chronic CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) treatments will be

important, but primary and primordial prevention strategies are also necessary. (Moran, 2015).

Since health care in South Asia is not the best this is an important factor in getting the help.

People in the lower economic status will be at a disadvantage of getting to the hospital in time

when those on set chest pains may happen due to not having healthcare.

Cardiovascular disease is an extremely fatal disease that not only affects South

Asia. This is a topic that continues to have concerns and continues to be a research topic on

how long term prevention can be effective. Reducing the risk and getting medical help are the

top things in preventing this becoming fatal. Eating a healthy diet, now this does not mean we

as humans can not have the foods with like like the fast food the grease the cards and the

sugar, it just has to be in moderations. South Asians usually are not the ones to have all these

foods and are still at risk but if to reduce the risk taking a closer look and preventing the risk of

having a stroke or heart attack. The heart is very strong but fragile at the same time. We have

to work within to make sure we can continue to live as long as we desire.

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References

WHO. (2021). Cardiovascular Disease. Retrieved from World Health Organization:

https://www.who.int/health-topics/cardiovascular-diseases#tab=tab_1

Dong, Z. (2021). Epidemiological Features of Cardiovascular Disease in Asia. Retrieved from

JACC Journals: https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacasi.2021.04.007

O’Conner, A. (2019) Why Do South Asians Have Such High Rates of Heart Disease? Retrieved

from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/well/live/why-do-south-asians-have-such-

high-rates-of-heart-disease.html

Cardiol, E. (2016). Socioeconomic status and cardiovascular risk in urban South Asia: The CARRS

Study. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25917221/

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Heart Matters. (June 2021). What is calcification of the arteries, and how can I treat it?

Retrieved from https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-

magazine/medical/ask-the-experts/calcification-of-arteries

Moran, A & Vedanthan, R. (2015). Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in South Asia Gathering

the Evidence. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4358799/