Mortality from cardiovascular disease subtypes among Asian groups in the United States

To characterize contemporary mortality for detailed cardiovascular disease (CVD) subtypes in individual Asian populations in the US.

With vital statistics for non-Hispanic Asian decedents aged ≥ 18 years (overall and individual ethnic groups), age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) were calculated for ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, hypertensive heart disease, valvular heart disease, and pulmonary heart disease, with rate ratios for subtype ASMR in individual Asian groups relative to the Asian group overall.

During 2018-2022, 123,566 CVD deaths occurred in Asian adults overall (15 % Asian Indian; 24 % Chinese; 20 % Filipino; 12 % Japanese; 8 % Korean; 10 % Vietnamese). Filipino adults had higher ASMR than Asian adults overall for all CVD subtypes. Asian Indian adults had higher ASMR than Asian adults overall for all CVD subtypes except valvular heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. Japanese adults had higher ASMR than Asian adults overall for heart failure and valvular heart disease. Vietnamese adults had a higher cerebrovascular disease ASMR than Asian adults overall. Chinese adults and Korean adults had ASMRs that were similar to or lower than Asian adults overall for all CVD subtypes.

CVD ASMRs for Asian adults in aggregate obscures important variability across individual Asian groups.