No special tendency among youth to get heart diseases: Study

The country's youth being prone to acute coronary diseases is a "myth", according to a new study by a hospital which also ranks high cholesterol level and hypertension as the major factors leading to heart ailments.
The research conducted by Fortis Healthcare was conducted between January 2011 and December 2015 and a total of 12,152 patients, aged 18-100 years, were studied.
"It is generally believed that Indian patients presented with acute coronary syndrome are younger than their counterparts from the western population. This is a myth as proved by this study. The age levels and risk factors in our population continue to be the same as in the west," according to Dr Upendra Kaul, Executive Director, Cardiology at Fortis Hospital in south Delhi.

"30 per cent patients included in this study were from South Asian countries," says Kaul who led the study.
The average age of patients studied was 61.7 (+11.2) years, this included 5,850 patients with heart attacks (ST elevation myocardial infarction) and 6,320 patients with heart muscle or related ailments (non-ST elevation myocardial infarction), the hospital said in a statement.
"The number of patients below the age of 30 years was only 33 (0.3 per cent); between 30-40 years, 304 (2.8); between 40-50 years, 1,298 (10.7); between 50-60 years, 3445 (28.3) and above 60 years, 7075 (58.2 per cent). This shows that heart disease does not show any special preference for younger age groups and continues to affect older populations," it said.

As per the study, high cholesterol or dyslipidemia (58.1 per cent), hypertension (53.2), current smoking (45), diabetes mellitus (36.9), and obesity (33.6) continue to be major factors in causing heart diseases.

"The male to female ratio was 4:1, implying more males are susceptible to heart diseases," it added.
Cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs) are disorders of the heart and blood vessels. They are a common cause of death, disability and lost man hours in India.
"Statistics from the WHO-Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well as Fortis Escorts Heart Institute state that non-communicable diseases in India account for more than 53 per cent of deaths in India and out of these, CVDs have a major share of 24.

"It is also first among top five causes of death among the Indian population. One-fifth of deaths in India are due to CVDs. By 2020, India will have the largest burden in the world with one-third of all deaths in India occurring due to CVDs," it claimed.