Men above 30 yrs most prone to heart diseases: Survey

This is one piece of news no Amdavadi would be proud of.

Ahmedabad stands third in the country in the category of people above 30 being afflicted with heart diseases thanks to the lifestyle, which entails huge consumption of junk food and lack of exercise, resulting in high cholesterol, particularly in the age group of 25 to 45 years.

The recent Assocham survey on ‘Young hearts high on cholesterol’ conducted ahead of World Heart Day, which falls on Sunday, revealed that men between 25 and 45 years have alarmingly high cholesterol, one of the key risk factors for a heart disease.

The survey was conducted in 10 major cities. A little over 200 employees were selected from each city on an average in which Delhi-NCR ranks first followed by Mumbai (second), Ahmedabad (third), Bangalore (fourth), Chandigarh (fifth), Hyderabad (sixth) and Pune (seventh).

The survey revealed that due to sedentary lifestyle, erratic eating habits, including high consumption of fast food, and stress, younger generations are prone to high cholesterol.

Pragnesh Vachharajani, a physician, said there has been a rise in the number of young patients complaining of lifestyle diseases. “I don’t know the details of the Assocham survey.

But it is common in Ahmedabad that younger patients are afflicted with cardiac problems,” he said.

The cardiac problems among youth in Ahmedabad are definitely rising, said Bharat Gadhvi, CEO and medical director of HCG Hospitals. “Hardly did we see cardiac arrest in the age group below 40 years two decades ago. Now, it is common among men in their thirties,” he said.

While releasing the survey, B K Rao, chairman of Assocham Health Committee, said: “Compared to men, women are found to have fewer problems with cholesterol with 15% of them having high lipid and cholesterol levels. The survey reveals that the younger generations are suffering from heart diseases these days and the blocks in arteries can be quite high even at that young age.”

Similarly, city-based cardiologist and vascular surgeon, Sukumar Mehta, said the youngest patient he had operated upon 10 years ago was around 35. “These days, the minimum age for angioplasty or bypass is around 30 in Ahmedabad,” he said.

Nearly 38% men are found to be suffering from high or abnormal levels of cholesterol. This is alarming for half of all heart attacks occur under 45 years and 25% under the age of 40.

The survey shows that there is a higher trend of heart attacks in young people, especially men in their 20s, 30s and 40s.  Assocham secretary-general DS Rawat said this has happened due to stress of cut-throat competition and vices like smoking and increased alcohol intake.