Dr. Sarju Ganatra, a cardiologist at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, has noticed a trend among the patients who arrive at the hospital with unexpected heart problems: A disproportionate number of them are South Asian. “It's not unusual for us, unfortunately, to see a young, relatively healthy person of South Asian origin come to our critical care unit with a cardiac arrest,” he said, which can be fatal.
South Asians are twice as likely to get heart disease as people of European ancestry. And they’re more likely to die of problems such as heart attacks at younger ages. “These numbers are enormous when we think about it at a population level,” Ganatra said, “but also devastating for individual patients.
” Ganatra and a wave of South Asian doctors across the country, motivated by their patients — as well as their own families and friends — are working to better understand and prevent heart disease in South Asians. Last year, Ganatra launched the South Asian Cardio-Metabolic Program at Lahey, one of just a few programs in the country designed specifically for people whose families originate from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries. Doctors believe a combination of lifestyle and genetic factors put South Asians at higher risk of heart disease, as well as related conditions such as diabetes and stroke.
But these risks often go unnoticed. Ganatra said routine blood tests can miss important clues, such as elevated lipoprotein (a) , a type o.
