Heart Attack: A Curse for the Indians

 Heart Attack: A Curse for the Indians

~by Priya Jyoti

When blood flows well in the heart, one glows differently. In the past five years, India has witnessed an upsurge in deaths attributed to heart attacks. That time is not far when India will see deaths due to heart attacks in the masses. This unprecedented surge in deaths related to heart attacks has many reasons, including major lifestyle changes, unbalanced diets, COVID-19, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), hypertension, obesity, etc. 

Heart attack is killing people in masses.

Although the medical practitioners have said that one of the major reasons for the sudden spike in these deaths in the past year is the second wave of COVID-19. The post-Covid development of thrombosis, i.e., blocking of blood vessels due to blood clots, is the major reason behind this. Apart from this, delay in diagnosis of heart-related issues amid the second wave, major lifestyle changes, and additional stress due to the pandemic are the reasons behind this upsurge. In the first six months of the year 2021, around 18,000 people succumbed to heart attacks in Mumbai. As compared to 2021, the percentage of deaths due to the same has increased to 217. During the pandemic, many people avoided going to hospitals, which resulted in delayed treatment of heart-related ailments. The restrictions in the lockdown period led to a sedentary lifestyle which didn’t allow people to do physical activities and socialise. This is also found to be one of the reasons for major lifestyle changes. The levels of cholesterol and sugar are going up with the weight gain. Along with that, smoking and high blood pressure contribute to the increased mortality due to heart attack. Deaths due to heart attack in the past few years: 

5 Indian society has degraded its diet, which has brought its data of deaths due to cardiovascular disease to 272% per lakh, which is estimated to be higher than the global average of 234%. The people here are fond of ultra-processed food items like pizza, burgers, noodles, fried chicken, chocolate, pastries, cake, momos, etc. The higher intake of white sugar and fried food items among Indians make them more vulnerable to CVDs, type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, etc. The main reasons behind this growing problem are a lack of nutrition education and a healthy and balanced diet among people. Educating Indians about the benefits and necessity of lifestyle modification and proper nutrition is crucial now.