Marked rise in under-30 heart patients

The age of heart patients has been falling over the years. Heart patients in their 20s are not unheard of, they are still uncommon.  However, we do see many with heart attacks in their early 30s, reports TOI.

As per Dr Prafulla Kerkar, head of cardiology at KEM Hospital, in a study of 350 heart attack patients, 9.5% of cases were below 40 years of age and 3% below 30. In almost all the young patients, smoking was invariably a common factor.

According to the November 2009 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch, as many as 10% of all heart attacks in men occur before the age of 45. In older adults, around 80% of these attacks stem from coronary artery disease. 

The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study in the US evaluated more than 5,000 young adults ages 18 to 30 and then monitored them for up to 15 years to find out how their risk factors influenced their heart health. The overall incidence of heart attack is 13% for the 18-25 age group and 18% for those aged between 25 and 30. 

There is no pooled data or large-scale analysis in India. But hospital record surveys have revealed a variable percentage of 9% to 15% heart attacks below the age of 40 years across the country. The statistics are only increasing by the day.