December 22, 2022
Santanu Sen’s Special Mention in the Rajya Sabha on 22.12.22 on the need to study cardiovascular diseases among young people
Sir, until now, heart attack was thought to be a condition that only affected the elderly and heart attack among the youth was considered abnormal. However, the instances of heart attack among the people under 40s are on the rise, including young people in their 20s and 30s. This is a scary trend for a nation with the largest youth population in the world. India specific data regarding heart attack in people under 40 is sparse. Indians suffer from cardiovascular disease at a younger age as compared to other countries. As per the Indian Heart Association, 50 per cent of all heart attacks in Indian men occur when they are under 50 years of age and 25 per cent when they are under 40 years of age. There has been a three per cent increase in cardiovascular disease among Indian women from 1990 to 2019, while globally the rate of cardiovascular disease among women has declined. The rise in heart attacks is attributed to various reasons: onset of diabetes at an early age, rising rate of obesity, sedentary lifestyle, excessive drinking and smoking, consumption of drugs, hypertension and stress. Some studies have found an increase in heart attacks post-Covid. The Government should encourage the youth to adopt a lifestyle that may decease the risk of cardiovascular diseases. There is a need to collate and study the data on occurrence of heart attack in people under 40 years of age. Appropriate trainings for conducting CPR and emergency response to heart attacks should also be conducted.
