The impact of new immigrants from the former Soviet Union on the severity of coronary angiographic findings in a public hospital in Israel

Background: The arrival of 610,000 pew immigrants tp Israel from the former Soviet republics accounted for 58% of the population growth in the early 1990s. Objective: To compare the coronary angiographic findings and risk factors between the new immigrants and local Jewish and Arab patients in this era of cost containment. Methods and Results: A total of 550 consecutive patients - 314 Jews, 95 new immigrants and 141 Arabs - were catheterized and analyzed during a 5 month period in 1995. Of this group 403 were males (73%). The mean age was 63.6+/-10.2 years among new immigrants, 62.4+/-9.4 among Jews, and 55.1+/-10.9 among Arabs (P<0.05). Immigrants, including those under age 60, had the highest prevalence of multivessel disease (88.7%). Arabs had a high prevalence of single vessel disease (34.6%) and a low prevalence of multivessel (65.4%) and left main coronary disease (5.6%). Age, gender, risk factors and ethnic origin in descending order were determinants of the extent of coronary angiographic disease as revealed by multiple regression analysis. Conclusion: New immigrants had the most extensive angiographic coronary involvement, while Arab patients were younger and had less severe coronary artery disease. More intensive risk factor modification may have a major impact on disease progression particularly in the new immigrant subgroup.