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People of South Asian origin are more likely to be affected by heart disease, but their risks often go unnoticed. Researchers are looking to genetics to better understand heart disease in South Asians and prevent early deaths. Priyanka Dayal McCluskey from member station WBUR reports.
PRIYANKA DAYAL MCCLUSKEY, BYLINE: Food has always been a passion for Pushpir Bhetia, the chef and owner of an Indian restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
PUSHPIR BHETIA: Of course, Indian food, pizza. I love sandwiches.
DAYAL MCCLUSKEY: Bhetia is 53. He says he tries to eat healthy and exercise, but like a lot of South Asian people, heart disease runs in his family.
BHETIA: My daughters say, Dad, make sure you do good. You know, we want you to be around as much as possible, right?
DAYAL MCCLUSKEY: So Bhetia met with Dr. Sarju Ganatra, a cardiologist at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, Massachusetts. He told the doctor that his uncle and his father died of heart problems.
BHETIA: My father passed away with the cardiac arrest, yeah.
SARJU GANATRA: Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah.
BHETIA: And my dad's older brother also passed away with the cardiac arrest.
GANATRA: OK.
BHETIA: So that's why I thought, like, you know, it's better that...
GANATRA: Yeah.
BHETIA: I should do this preventive care thing.
GANATRA: Right.
DAYAL MCCLUSKEY: Ganatra leads the hospital's South Asian Cardio-Metabolic Program. The goal is preventing heart disease in people whose families originate from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries. Ganatra says genetics is one undeniable reason why South Asians are more likely to develop heart disease and suffer heart attacks at younger ages.
GANATRA: South Asians have genetic factors which leads to some of the very high-risk features for developing blockages in the blood vessels.
DAYAL MCCLUSKEY: Routine tests can miss some clues like elevated levels of a cholesterol called lipoprotein(a). Ganatra often orders additional blood tests or imaging to get a better picture of what's happening inside his patients' arteries and whether they need to make lifestyle changes or take medications like statins.
GANATRA: If we don't identify the risk properly, we can't prevent it properly.
DAYAL MCCLUSKEY: Efforts like this targeting South Asian patients have been growing, driven by some stark numbers. Researchers estimate that South Asians make up 25% of the world's population but account for 60% of heart disease. South Asians are also underrepresented in scientific research compared to their share of the population. Dr. Pradeep Natarajan, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, is coleading a study that aims to correct this by analyzing the DNA of South Asian people living across the U.S.
PRADEEP NATARAJAN: We've not had the datasets really, substantive datasets to really study this.
DAYAL MCCLUSKEY: Natarajan's team is working to map out the genetic factors that put South Asians at greater risk.
NATARAJAN: If we have datasets that are large enough, we might find actually unique genes or unique gene regions, or unique genetic mechanisms, that might be particularly relevant in this population. It won't explain all of it, but it'll begin to unpack really critical and important reasons.
DAYAL MCCLUSKEY: Natarajan is hopeful this research could lead to new treatments for the many South Asian people who might benefit and for anyone at risk of heart disease.
For NPR News, I'm Priyanka Dayal McCluskey in Boston.
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