Recently a shocking news about death of a well-known face in the entertainment sector due to heart attack left everyone surprised. A person who was just 40-year-old, seemingly healthy and robust physique died due to a condition that many associate to be with older age group.
A disturbing fact that needs to be given attention is that recently there has been a sharp rise in cases of heart attack among younger group in India. The numbers are more shocking
- It has been observed Indian are prone to heart attacks 8 to 10 years earlier than another ethnicity
- More than 40% of heart attacks reported are in people below the age of 55 years
Heart Attacks- What can be the possible reasons?
There were days when children were admitting their parents with cardiac issues, now there are more elderly parents reporting such issues with their children as young as 22 years old. As we are advancing in technology, more and more new risk factors are turning their heads towards us.
Screen Addiction leading to sedentary lifestyle
Sitting is the new smoking, yes, it’s right. While battling alcohol addiction, tobacco addiction and narcotics are already a major issue. Many youngsters have a newer addiction of being glued to their laptops and mobile screens. Online streaming entertainment shows, games and entertainment mediums are discouraging people towards a healthy lifestyle and promoting sedentary habits that leads to lesser physical activity, weight gains and poor eating habits ultimately poor heart health.
Stress induced heart diseases
We live in a fast-paced world, the race to be on the top can be taxing. There is a constant work stress reported by people working in IT sector and BT sector. Loneliness, lack of sleep, long working hours and poor lifestyle choices have added up on more physical and mental stress.
Existing Health conditions & Lifestyle
India also harbors other health conditions like diabetes, obesity, hypertension rising among the younger group. This adds to the rising cases of heart attacks, the reason can be attributed to genetic factors, familial tendencies, poor lifestyle. Bad lifestyle choices expedite the damage to the body and are the precursor for other health conditions. There is a constant need to keep such vitals in check and to maintain the health stats under control.
Smoking & the bad air quality both affecting the heart
A major standing cause of increase in heart attacks can be attributed to smoking. While more and more young adults are being enticed towards smoking, the chances of having a bad cardiovascular health increase drastically. Another major factor that also affects the body is the bad air quality that slowly affects the blood vessels leading to their hardening and increasing the clot formation tendency. This can lead to increase in heart attack and stroke
Substance Abuse
Excessive substance use like alcohol or any such compound that alters the neurological or biochemical state of an individual damages the heart and the tissue. These affects the health in both acute and chronic way. One needs to be careful while indulging in such substance intake and consider the ill effects
What can be done to avert such incidents?
Causes can be many and it’s hard to find the actual reason of a Heart Attack. The best we can do is to prevent it and detect any upcoming Heart exigency at the right time and take action before it turns fatal.
Nearly 80% of cardiovascular disease are preventable. Yet they are a global burden. Youngsters are among the group that have a better immune system, recovery process as well as their system easily adapts to changes. Still, we keep hearing of shocking news of young people dying of sudden heart attack. While choosing to be healthy, right diet and lifestyle choices can improve health stats drastically, it’s time to adopt a more proactive approach rather than reactive.
The time calls to take actions that can help avoid these incidents. Taking preventive actions of improving lifestyle, reduce stress and choosing healthy diet there’s a strong need of regular heart monitoring and check-ups are the need of the hour. Technology has made things so easy that you can now have a personal ECG monitor in your pocket everywhere and anywhere. Not just this, you can be connected to your doctor all the time. Not only detecting an upcoming heart ailment or a heart attack they can also gauge the general fitness and stress levels which need to be monitored on a regular basis.
Think of keeping ECG monitors at home
It’s common to misjudge a heart attack with heart burn. Its common in such age to be on denial that it cannot be a heart attack. But the data just shared says otherwise, a fool proof way to be certain of this guess work is to take an ECG. Electrocardiogram helps to graphically represent your heart activity and detect any abnormality instantly. With personal ECG devices like SanketLife a quick ECG can be taken anytime, anywhere and by anyone and everyone. SanketLife is a miniaturized version of hospital grade 12 lead ECG machine and can be used by just touching the electrodes. Connected with smartphone app it can quickly convert your ECG into a pdf report and can be shared with a doctor who can help you take a faster decision that whether it is really a Heart Attack or just something trivial.
With heart attacks in rise and the current pandemic conditions people need to switch to such smart monitors. Being wise, choosing the right tools and being aware is all that matters.