• Shuchi Anand, Christina Bradshaw, and Dorairaj Prabhakaran.
• Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
• Bmc Med. 2020 Jan 24; 18 (1): 7.

BackgroundLow- and middle-income countries now experience the highest prevalence and mortality rates of cardiovascular disease.Main TextWhile improving the availability and delivery of proven, effective therapies will no doubt mitigate this burden, we posit that studies evaluating cardiovascular disease risk factors, management strategies and service delivery, in diverse settings and diverse populations, are equally critical to improving outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Focusing on examples drawn from four cardiovascular diseases - coronary artery disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease - we argue that ethnicity, culture and context matter in determining the risk factors for disease as well as the comparative effectiveness of medications and other interventions, particularly diet and lifestyle interventions.ConclusionWe believe that a host of cohort studies and randomized control trials currently being conducted or planned in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on previously understudied race/ethnic groups, have the potential to increase knowledge about the cause(s) and management of cardiovascular diseases across the world.

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