Roundup: Rise in deaths due to heart attack causes stir in India

by Pankaj Yadav

NEW DELHI, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) — The incidence of deaths due to heart attack or cardiac arrest has been on the rise in India in recent years, particularly among individuals in the age group of 35-50 years.

Though no official data is available, according to an estimate, around 1.5-1.7 million people die in the country every year due to heart attack or cardiovascular ailments. Among the casualties, the ratio of young men is comparatively higher than women of their age group.

A report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that cardiovascular ailments account for nearly 17 percent of all deaths in the South Asian country. On average, around 10 million people die in India every year.

“The occurrence of heart-related issues has increased by more than 50 percent from 1990 to 2016. Another worrying trend in India is that heart attack incidents are rapidly increasing among youths (aged between 25-40). This is happening because of the unhealthy lifestyle habits among young adults,” said the ICMR report.

Quoting experts, the report further said that there was an urgent need to educate the younger generation in order to bring down these alarming numbers in the country.

In recent months, videos of young and middle-aged men dying due to massive heart attacks while exercising in gymnasiums or during dance performances have been galore on social media.

A video of a middle-aged man dancing at a birthday party and suddenly collapsing due to a massive heart attack in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly town last week has gone viral in India. In a few minutes he died.

Similarly, a video of another stage artist collapsing while playing the role of a special character at a community event in Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri town last week has been watched by over a million people. He too died instantly.

Much-celebrated singer Krishnakumar Kunnath alias KK died at 53 in May, joining the list of entertainment industry figures dying of heart attack, among which were also TV actor Sidharth Shukla and south Indian film star Puneeth Rajkumar who died last year at the age of 40 and 46 years, respectively.

Raju Srivastava, a stand-up comedian, has been battling for his life for over a month after suffering a massive heart attack while exercising in a gym in Mumbai.

Such deaths have triggered a debate in the Indian media about the seriousness of heart-related ailments, and the need to raise awareness among people on how to avoid reaching the critical stage. Dedicated programs on heart-related ailments are being telecast on mainstream TV media.

Post-COVID symptoms, obesity, smoking, lifestyle changes experienced during the pandemic, and immense work pressure combined with stress and hypertension are cited as some of the key reasons behind the steep rise in heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases in the country.

The eating habits of Indians are also blamed as one of the major reasons behind the rising number of heart attack cases. The intake of large quantities of salt, sugar and “ghee” (clarified butter made from the milk of a buffalo or cow, used in cooking in India and other South Asian countries) also leads to increased chances of heart attacks among Indians, say health experts.

The Hindu newspaper quoted cardiologist Dr. Gobu P as saying that the younger generation in India was increasingly becoming prone to heart diseases.

“Compared to the Western world, the incidence of coronary artery diseases is much more in India, and the severity is much higher too. We see a trend of these diseases affecting more of the younger population of our country compared to the West. We have observed that about one-fourth of heart attack patients admitted to our hospital are aged below 45,” the expert was quoted as saying.

A leading cardiologist in the northern state of Haryana Dr. Harinder K. Bali told Xinhua over the phone that around 6 million people in India know they are suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

Meanwhile, he advised the youths who suffered from COVID-19 in the past two years not to immediately hit the gyms the hard way, as, according to him, the pandemic might have left an adverse impact on their lungs, thus impacting the respiratory system.

“There is no official data available about the number of deaths due to heart attacks in the country every year. But it is an established fact that around 6 million people across the country are on regular medication for heart ailments. The incidence is rising by the day,” he said.

Dr. Bali added that people should not shy away from getting heart check-ups in case they feel even the slightest of symptoms.

“We have seen sports and film personalities suffering sudden heart attacks leading to death. People looking stronger physically should not presume to have a healthy heart. Modern day lifestyle whereby people tend to spend sitting idle sans any physical work also contributes towards acquiring heart ailments,” he added.