Coronary heart disease prevention among Chinese immigrants: The importance of health literacy

Background Health literacy has been identified as a critical global health issue, with robust scientific evidence demonstrating its impact on the adoption of preventive measures and health outcomes in chronic conditions, including coronary heart disease (CHD). While low health literacy is a widespread issue, it is particularly prevalent among certain populations, such as immigrants.Discussion People born in the Greater China Region (‘Chinese immigrants’ hereafter) live in around 130 countries outside their birth region, comprising more than 10.7 million Chinese overseas today, making them the third biggest migrant group globally following Mexicans and Indians. Emerging evidence suggests that low health literacy of Chinese immigrants negatively affects heart disease prevention efforts across the pre-diagnosis, diagnosis, and post-diagnosis phases. Given the higher cardiovascular risk factor profile and increased CHD risk in Chinese immigrants compared to the individuals living in mainland China, there is an urgent need for heart disease prevention focusing on improving health literacy throughout the entire disease trajectory.