Heart attacks: Why do fitness enthusiasts and young adults suffer heart attacks? |

Heart failure was already a sign of old age decades ago. Old age brought with it a number of health problems that caused the body's biological functions to deteriorate beyond normal wear and tear.
In recent years, however, outbreaks of the disease have become younger and younger. And not only that: people who appear to be fit, who pay attention to their fitness, diet and exercise, and who are in the prime of their lives, are suddenly dying of heart attacks.
The death of actor Vikas Sethi, known for his role as Robbie in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, due to cardiac arrest has recently raised several questions. A few days ago, a 19-year-old bodybuilder died of a heart attack in Brazil. Matheus Pavlak was popular on social media after transforming himself from an obese teenager to a fitness icon. He regularly participated in regional bodybuilding competitions.
This worrying spread of life-threatening diseases to the younger population has been a controversial issue for several years.
What causes the heart to suddenly stop beating in young people? What triggers and risk factors are hidden from our eyes? Is it difficult to lead a healthy lifestyle? What drives young adults to their deaths?

“In the last few decades, trends have changed significantly. We have more and more young people with heart attacks. Previously Heart attacks and blockages in the heart arteries were a disease of the elderly. According to a study, heart disease is occurring in the Indian population a decade earlier than in the Western population for the first time. In our practice, we see many patients in their 30s and 40s with heart attacks,” says

Dr. Rahul Chhabria, MBBS, DNB – General Medicine, DNB – Cardiology – Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai.
“Lack of exercise, poor dietary habits, lack of salad, fruits and green leafy vegetables, bad habits like tobacco use, smoking etc., stress, inadequate medical check-ups, denial of diseases, higher risk factors like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and excessive screen time like using mobile phones, computers, tablets etc. contribute to the early onset of heart diseases,” says Dr Chhabria and warns, “Unfortunately, most of these risk factors are silent killers and do not cause any major symptoms. Unless people go for regular check-ups, it is difficult to diagnose diseases like high cholesterol, high blood sugar, high blood pressure etc.”

The four Cs for treating cholesterol problems and reducing the occurrence of heart disease

Accordingly Dr. Maulik Parekh, Head of TAVR and Structural Heart Program, Section Coordinator – Cardiological Sciences, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, MumbaiIt is important to make sure that you do not fall victim to high cholesterol and the problems that come with it, such as heart attacks or strokes.
Dr. Parekh shares The four Cs for preventing heart disease: monitor, advise, care and cure.

“Regular CHECKS are very important. I see so many patients who do a blood package, a so-called package that contains all the tests, a 20-page report every year from the nearest laboratory. But then they don't go and consult anyone. So that's useless. So when you check your reports, you should CONSULT a doctor, preferably a cardiologist, about what measures are needed and what else will be required. Next comes CARE. If you have high cholesterol, you need to pay attention to your lifestyle. This care consists of exercise. This means at least 40 to 50 minutes of cardio exercise daily, reaching the ideal weight, eating a healthy diet with less fried, fatty foods, focusing on generally avoiding carbohydrate and high-fat diets and definitely avoiding smoking. And fourthly, CURE. The cure is medication. Despite lifestyle management and despite all the other measures, sometimes you need to take medication to control your cholesterol and you need to see a doctor, take appropriate medication and of course, after a few months of taking it, do a follow-up after another blood test to see where you are and whether you need to continue taking the medication or whether you can stop it or change the dosage,” explains Dr. Chhabria.

Start your health check from the age of 20

Experts recommend having regular health checks starting at the age of 20.
“Cholesterol levels do not depend on age. Even young people can have very, very high cholesterol. In fact, many young people have high cholesterol,” says Dr. Parekh.
“Please do not ignore any warning signs on the body like chest pain, unusual burning in the chest, unexplained pain in the left shoulder or arm, unexplained sweating,” says Dr. Chhabria, adding, “Try to do some exercise daily. If you are too busy in your daily life, try to walk more and walk 7,500 steps daily. This can reduce the risk of heart attack by 50%.”