Top News

The risk of heart diseases in India is no longer the same as before, it is changing rapidly and the most worrying thing is that now even the youth are falling prey to it. While earlier heart attack was considered a disease of elderly people, now cases of sudden heart attack are being reported even in young age. Statistics show that heart attack has become the cause of one out of every four deaths in the country, making it a serious public health problem.

A study conducted in GB Pant Hospital, Delhi has revealed shocking facts. According to this research, about 80 percent of such patients, who were considered ‘low-risk’ in the initial investigation, later became victims of heart attack. The study was conducted under the supervision of a senior cardiologist, and included analysis of data from more than 6,000 patients. This makes it clear that the pattern of heart diseases in India is changing rapidly and traditional testing methods are no longer completely reliable.

Increasing danger among youth

According to the report, the cases of heart attack have reached 5 to 10 percent even between the age of 20 to 30 years. This number is continuously increasing, which is a matter of concern. At this age, sudden heart attacks often occur without any obvious symptoms. This risk increases further at the age of 30 to 40 years. In this age group, reasons like stress, irregular routine, obesity and early diabetes play a major role.

The study also revealed that about 25 percent of cases were registered in people between 40 and 50 years of age. People aged between 50 to 60 years were found to be most affected, whose share was between 30 to 35 percent. Mortality rates were highest among people over the age of 60, indicating that the risk becomes more severe with age.

Why is the pressure on the heart increasing?

In today’s busy life, career stress, financial pressure and not getting enough sleep is having a bad effect on heart health. Apart from this, smoking, vaping and drug habits damage the blood vessels and narrow them. Working while sitting at one place for a long time, excessive consumption of junk food, staying awake till late night and stressful lifestyle play an important role in increasing cholesterol. These reasons further increase the risk of heart attack.

Increasing deaths due to heart diseases

The situation in Delhi also remains quite worrying. According to government data and civil registration system, more than 34,000 deaths due to heart and circulatory diseases were recorded in the year 2024. In the last 20 years, more than 3 lakh people have lost their lives in Delhi due to heart diseases, which clearly shows the seriousness of this threat.

What are the reasons behind this?

Experts believe that pollution, stressful lifestyle, diabetes and high blood pressure are the main reasons. Apart from this, the risk calculators made on the basis of western countries do not suit the people of India completely. For this reason, experts are emphasizing the need to prepare a separate heart risk assessment model for India.

Doctors advise that it is not right to rely only on ‘normal’ reports. It is very important to have regular health checkups. Along with this, balanced diet, daily exercise and controlling stress are important to keep the heart healthy. People who have a history of heart disease in their family should take special care and should consult a doctor from time to time and get necessary tests done.