Submit your entries for the Science To Life Banner Contest!
Email your entries to sci2life@aol.com or India will account for approximately 60% of heart disease cases worldwide within two years, according to new research published in the journal Lancet.
The study, led by Dr Denis Xavier of St John's National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore and other researchers from Canada says one major problem is that Indians are unable to reach hospitals quickly in an emergency. Other risk factors in India were the same as elsewhere including tobacco use, high levels of lipids in the blood due to diets rich in saturated fat, and hypertension.
"As the Indian economy grows, there is a possibility for further increase in cardiovascular disease before we see a decline similar to that being witnessed in developed countries," US cardiologist Kim Eagle wrote in a commentary in the Lancet.
Read more in this BBC story
Medicine & Health
Comments
Most Indians are Hindu and don't eat beef...so I guess that blows the "too many Big Macs" theory out the window. The story does say that they may be getting too many saturated fats, but other than ghee what other sources of saturated fats are they eating...?...avocados? Actually, Indians do eat a lot of carbohydrates, particularly rice, naan (flat bread), and root vegetables. Perhaps it's not the smoking or the hypertension that's the main risk factor, but the simple sugars and processed carbs? From what I seem to be able to read, albeit between the lines, that's an obvious contributing factor that's simply being ignored.
Posted by: Kevin | April 29, 2008 4:01 PM
i thought the indian diet which is rich in curcuminoids is supposed to reduce the heard disease cases in india.
Posted by: arthritistreatmentguy | April 30, 2008 12:02 PM
Yes,
several reports have found that curcumin may reduce the risk of heart failure. However, it is possible that the other factors, like increased tobacco use and increased stress, may override the effects of curcumin.
Posted by: Karen Ventii | May 8, 2008 10:59 AM