A systematic review of the effectiveness of preventive measures for coronary artery disease in Asian Indians

Review Question/Objectives The objective of this systematic review is to examine the best available evidence regarding prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Asian Indians (AI). The anticipated outcome is an evidence based practice recommendation that maximizes preventive strategies in AI. Specifically, the review seeks answers to the following questions: 1. What strategies are most effective in the early detection of CAD in this population? 2. What are the most effective primary prevention strategies for CAD in Asian Indians? 3. What are the most effective secondary prevention strategies for CAD in Asian Indians? Types of Participants The review will consider studies that include Asian Indians who are healthy or may be at risk of developing CAD (primary prevention) and those who have CAD (secondary prevention). For this review “Asian Indians” will include people who trace their origin to the country of India. The participants to be studied are both AI male and female adults, 18 years or older. Studies with a primary focus only on participants from other countries in South Asia (Pakistan, Bangladesh and Srilanka) other than India would be excluded. Studies on AI children would not be included for this review. Types of Interventions/Phenomenon of interest The review will consider studies that evaluate the strategies for early detection of CAD and instituting prevention strategies in AI. Both primary and secondary preventive measures will be considered for review. For this review the primary prevention strategies will consider prevention measures for apparently healthy AI with no CAD. The secondary prevention strategies will consider prevention measures for AI who have CAD.Screening for risk factors (early detection), lifestyle modifications, and pharmacological therapy for prevention will be considered for this review. Studies on AIs with ischemic heart disease, angina and myocardial infarction will be included. Any interventions and treatments of CAD other than prevention will be excluded. Preventive revascularization measures such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) will be excluded. Studies on cerebrovascular disease such as stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA) and peripheral vascular disease (PVD) will be excluded. TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS