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Black Cumin ( Nigella sativa), which belongs to the botanical family of Ranunculaceae, commonly grows in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Western Asia. Its ripe fruit contains tiny black seeds, known as 'Al-Habba Al-Sauda' and 'Al-Habba Al-Barakah' in Arabic and black seed or black cumin in English. Seeds of Nigella sativa are frequently used in folk medicine in the Middle East and some Asian countries for the promotion of good health and the treatment of many ailments. However, data for the cardiovascular benefits of black cumin are not well-established. We reviewed the literature from 1960 to March 2012 by using the following key words: ' Nigella sativa,' ' black seeds,' and ' thymoquinone.' Herein, we discussed the most relevant articles to find out the role of Nigella sativa in the cardiovascular diseases spectrum especially when there is a paucity of information and need of further studies in human to establish the utility of Nigella sativa in cardiovascular system protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South Asian (SA) population constitutes one of the largest ethnic groups in the world. Several studies that compared host and migrant populations around the world indicate that SAs have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) than their native-born counterparts. Herein, we review the literature to address the role of the screening tools, scoring systems, and guidelines for primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention in these populations. Management based on screening for the CVD risk factors in a high-risk population such as SAs can improve health care outcomes. There are many scoring tools for calculating 10-year CVD risk; however, each scoring system has its limitations in this particular ethnicity. Further work is needed to establish a unique scoring and guidelines in SAs., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

South Asians (SAs), in their countries or after migration, are at high risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and mortality compared to other ethnic groups. It has been shown that >90% of CAD global risk could be attributed to 9 modifiable risk factors (RFs) worldwide. However, these conventional RFs may not fully explain this high risk of CAD among SAs. Therefore, attention has been directed toward nonconventional RFs. In this narrative review, we evaluate the conventional and emerging cardiovascular RFs characterizing SAs. These factors may explain the high morbidity and mortality among SAs. Further prospective studies are urgently needed to set algorithms for the optimal management of these RFs in high-risk populations like SAs., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Aims: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the western world and has reached epidemic proportions. The incidence of congestive heart failure (CHD) and hypertension is also rising rapidly in many of the affluent Arab nations and cardiovascular diseases continue to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among adult Qataris and Asians residing in Qatar., Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the effect of hypertension among patients admitted to hospital in Qatar with CHD and to identify risk factors that contribute to the development of CHD in hypertensive subjects., Design: This is a retrospective cohort study., Setting: Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation., Subjects: All patients who were hospitalized with CHD with or without hypertension in the Hamad General Hospital, State of Qatar, from 1991 to 2001., Methods: The diagnostic classification of definite CHD was made in accordance with criteria based on the International Classification of Disease, ninth revision (ICD-9]., Result: A total of 20,856 patients were treated during the 10-year period; 8446 were Qataris. Among them, 60% were males and 40% females. Among the total patients (3713) hospitalized with CHD, 1744 (46.9%) had hypertension. Furthermore, the incidence of hypertension was slightly higher in males than in females (56.4 vs 43.6%). A statistically significant difference was found between hypertensive and non-hypertensive cases with diabetes mellitus and angina. Hypertensive subjects were more likely to have diabetes (p < 0.001) and angina (p < 0.030). The mortality rate of CHD patients with hypertension was higher among Qataris than among non-Qataris (p < 0.038)., Conclusion: Hypertension was the most common risk factor for CHD; it contributed a large proportion of heart failure cases in this population-based sample. Preventive strategies directed toward earlier detection of elevated blood pressure and its control are likely to offer the greatest promise for reducing the incidence of CHD and its associated mortality.