Coronary angiographic findings and conventional coronary artery disease risk factors of Indo-Guyanese immigrants with stable angina pectoris and acute coronary syndromes

Background: The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) among migrant Indian populations exceeds that of Caucasians. Migrant Indians also suffer from more premature, clinically aggressive and angiographically extensive, (ie, 3-vessel disease). It is not known whether the extent of angiographic CAD or the conventional CAD risk factors of Indo-Guyanese (IG) immigrants differs from that of Caucasians. Methods: We reviewed the conventional CAD risk factors and angiographic findings of 198 IG and 191 Caucasians who were consecutively referred for cardiac catheterization with a diagnosis of stable angina pectoris or acute coronary syndrome. Results: Three-vessel CAD was approximately 1.5 times more common among IG than Caucasians (34.8% vs 24.0%; P=.02). Age (P=.01), male sex (P=.03) and diabetes mellitus (P=.05) were independently associated with an increased likelihood of 3-vessel CAD and there was a trend towards IG ethnicity predicting 3-vessel disease (P=.13). The frequency of diabetes mellitus (51.5% vs 30.9%; P<.001), hypertension (82.3% vs 67.0%; P<.001) and dyslipidemia (75.5% vs 60.2%; P=.001) were significantly greater among IG, however, that of smoking was not. While IG were significantly leaner than Caucasians (27.7 kg/m ² vs 30.0 kg/m ²; P<.001), their mean body mass index fell within the ethnic-specific range for obesity. Conclusions: We conclude that IG immigrants presenting for coronary angiography have significantly higher rates of 3-vessel CAD as well as higher rates of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidemia than Caucasians. Aggressive screening, prevention and treatment may be warranted in this cohort.