Heart Disease and Asian Americans

• Overall, Asian American adults are less likely than white adults to have heart disease and they are less likely to die from heart disease.
• In general, Asian American adults have lower rates of being overweight or obese, lower rates of hypertension, and they are less likely to be current cigarette smokers.
• Asian Americans are 50 percent less likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites.
• Asian American men are four times more likely to smoke cigarettes as compared to Asian American women.

Diagnosed Cases of Coronary Heart Disease

Age-adjusted percentage of coronary heart disease among persons 18 years of age and over, 2018
Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
4.4	5.8	0.7

Death Rate

Age-adjusted heart disease death rates per 100,000 (2018)
	Non-Hispanic Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	106.0	213.1	0.5
Women	63.5	130.7	0.5
Total	82.0	168.1	0.5

Risk Factors

There are several risk factors related to heart disease. Some of these risk factors are:

Obesity and Overweight

– See Obesity and Asian Americans

Hypertension

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who have high blood pressure, 2013-2016
	Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	30.2	31.1	1.0
Women	24.4	27.0	0.9
Total	27.0	29.2	0.9

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who have high blood pressure, 2018
Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
21.9	24.0	0.9

Percentage of adults aged 18 and over with hypertension whose blood pressure is under control, 2015-2016
	Non-Hispanic Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	34.9	47.7	0.7
Women	39.7	48.5	0.8
Total	37.4	50.8	0.7

High Cholesterol

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who have high cholesterol, 2013-2016
	Non-Hispanic Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	26.0	33.6	0.7
Women	23.5	31.6	0.7
Total	24.7	32.7	0.8

Percentage of adults who received a blood cholesterol measurement in the last 5 years, 2017
Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
91.0	87.3	1.0

Cigarette Smoking

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who are current cigarette smokers, 2018
Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
6.8	15.5	0.4

Current cigarette smoking among adults aged 18 and over, 2015-2017
	Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	12.3	17.8	0.7
Women	4.0	16.0	0.25

Percentage of current smokers age 18 and over with a checkup who reported receiving advice to quit smoking, 2017
Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	67.9	--

Percentage of current smokers age 18 and over with a checkup who reported receiving advice to quit smoking, 2015
Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
34.2	60.2	0.6