RESEARCHERS are to investigate why South Asians have a far greater risk of dying from heart attacks than other Scots.

It is hoped that the two-year study will lead to new treatments for heart disease.

South Asians are the largest ethnic minority group in Scotland and are more prone to heart disease than the rest of the population.

Now, thanks to a large share of a £104,000 cash injection from medical charity Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, Edinburgh University’s cardiovascular research team is aiming to find out why.

South Asian women living in this country have a 51 per cent higher risk of dying of a heart attack than women from other ethnic backgrounds. In men, South Asians are 46 per cent more likely to die of a heart attack.

One theory is that this might be due to a greater tendency towards blood clotting or thrombosis among people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka.

For the £57,293 study, the researchers will recruit 50 healthy young male volunteers, half of them South Asian and the rest European or Caucasian.

A portion of the group will be given standard blood-thinning medication such as aspirin, others will take a placebo and the rest will receive a combination of both.