Polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 are potential candidates that could potentially help clinicians on the treatment of cardiovascular diseases among Asian populations

There are significant ethnic differences in the metabolism of some drugs that can be explained by cytochrome P450 polymorphisms and, in particular, the CYP2D6 isozyme. In addition, among patients who are not carriers of the CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles, there is a reduced risk of stroke when clopidogrel is taken with aspirin compared to aspirin alone. These findings demonstrate that there is inter-ethnic variability in the metabolism of some drugs, which results in different responses to cardiovascular drugs in Asian versus non-Asian populations.