HEART DAY SPECIAL (3)...Heart ailments no longer restricted to adults

Heart ailments no longer restricted to adults

Young people are now prone to heart diseases. Smoking, consuming alcohol, erratic eating and sleeping habits make them vulnerable

If you think you need to worry about your heart only after 50, think again. Now it is not only unrequited love that is causing heart-aches among youngsters; changes in life-style and high stress-levels are making them vulnerable to heart-diseases. More than 25% of cases of cardiac diseases are being detected among youngsters as old as 15 years. Consumption of alcohol, smoking, erratic eating and sleeping habits are some of the major causes. "In 2006, I was taken aback by a case of 17-year-old girl who complaint of chest pains due to heavy blockage in her arteries," says Dr Mahesh Singh, Cardiac Surgeon, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi. The patient was admitted in an ICU. She underwent an an angioplasty. However, the pain cropped up again after three months. "The case was all the more serious as she had to give SSC exams in a few months. The causes can range from life-style changes, family history and stress," says Singh. Earlier, coronary artery disease was more common in patients older than 50 years. "Youngsters have been increasingly smoking. Besides this, people are physically less active these days. Twenty five percent of patients who contract cardiac diseases are below 35 years of age, which is a matter of concern," says Dr Sanjeev Kumar Kalkekar, inventional cardiologist, MGM New Bombay Hospital, Vashi. Simple steps like regular exercise, healthy eating habits and drinking water in copious amounts can help in reducing the risk of heart diseases. "Eating the right kind of food is the best precaution against heart ailments. Youngsters also need to curb smoking and drinking," adds Kalkekar. DNA SEP29, 2012 WORLD HEART DAY