Quote:
> jai maharaj |_|_|_|_| mantra corporation
> jyotishi, vedic astrologer |_| |_| vedic prediction sciences
> mci mail 561-4754 | | | | | voicemail +1 808 948 4357
^Doctors Find Clues to Asians' High Rate of Heart Disease<
^By RANDI HUTTER EPSTEIN=
^Associated Press Writer=
LONDON (AP) _ Two days after the Indian New Year in October,
Harchand Singh collapsed in the middle of a busy intersection and
cracked his skull.
The next thing he remembered was lying in a hospital bed and
doctors talking about clogged {*filter*} vessels. Singh, a taxi driver,
had suffered a heart attack. Singh, a strict vegetarian with normal
levels of cholesterol, was only 38.
``I'd been getting a bit of pain in my chest but I thought maybe
I ate too much during the New Year celebration. The doctors said my
{*filter*} got blocked,'' said Singh, who was stunned by the news.
Among the South Asian community here _ people from India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh _ Singh's story is not unusual. Their rate
of heart disease is 40 percent higher compared to the rest of
Britain, according to surveys by Dr. Paul McKeigue, a researcher at
the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
South Asians in Trinidad have double the national average for
heart disease. In Singapore their risk is nearly four times that of
the Chinese, said McKeigue, in a telephone interview from Bahrain,
where he is continuing his heart disease surveys.
What's baffled doctors is that many patients, like Singh, have
none of the typical warning signs, such as high cholesterol.
``Diet does not explain why Indians are doing so badly,'' said
McKeigue. ``If anything the Indians have a better diet, lower
saturated fats and higher intake of vegetables and pulses
(beans).''
Mounting evidence suggests that heart disease among South Asians
is linked to a defect in the pancreas' production of insulin, which
regulates {*filter*} sugar. The sugar problem alone may not spark heart
attacks. But combined with a high-fat diet _ vegetarians can get
plenty of fat from butter and cheese _ the two risks dramatically
up the chances of getting sick, say doctors.
That may also provide clues to understand why the illness
sometimes strikes Americans and Europeans with normal cholesterol
levels.
Though doctors do not understand precisely how insulin is linked
to heart disease, they suspect it has to do with the {*filter*}-clotting
system. When the insulin-creating system malfunctions, it throws a
cascade of {*filter*}-clotting chemicals out of sync. This makes {*filter*}
vessels more likely to clog.
Severe defects in insulin production trigger diabetes. But even
people without full-blown diabetes are at increased risk of heart
attacks, say doctors.
Dr. Ami Laws, an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford
University, has been studying heart disease among South Asians in
the United States; she has found that their rate is about double
the national average. Unlike McKeigue, who does population surveys,
Laws delves deeper into the {*filter*} chemistry.
Her most recent study, published in the June issue of
Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis, found that the Indians studied
were 60 percent more likely to have an insulin system defect. The
findings were based on comparing 22 {*filter*} samples from people of
Indian descent to an equal number from white Americans.
At a British Cardiac Society meeting in May, Dr. David de Bono
presented results of a similar study comparing {*filter*} samples among
190 boys in England, half of Indian descent and half European. He
not only detected a higher rate of insulin defects among the Indian
boys, he also spotted increased levels of another {*filter*} chemical,
called Lp(a).
The Lp(a) findings suggests that insulin may be only partly to
blame, said de Bono, a professor of cardiology at Leicester
University. Lp(a) plays a role in the {*filter*}-clotting system.
Previous studies have linked increased levels to a higher risk of
heart disease.
``I would emphasize that it's not just South Asians. They are
giving us insight into what is going on. I think if we look at risk
factors to predict coronary disease, it's going to be insulin,
Lp(a), total cholesterol and HDL,'' said de Bono.
HDL is called the ``good'' cholesterol because it ferries fat
out of the {*filter*}. Low HDL may be one of several risk factors for
heart disease.
``We see cholesterol as one player in a big orchestra,'' de Bono
said.
Life expectancy of vegetarians?