: A survey conducted by the National Heart Institute here has revealed a 10 per cent increase in cardiac illness among women. The cases of 1,20,444 patients admitted to the hospital between 2012 and 2016 were studied for the survey.
“Today, women and youngsters stand at an elevated risk of getting a heart disease. This trend can be attributed to an unhealthy diet, increase in consumption of tobacco and related products, a sedentary lifestyle, and stress,” notes the study.
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Findings by the institute also suggest that more and more pre-menopausal women are being treated for heart-related diseases. A sizeable 25 per cent of the total bypass surgeries are done on women. “The female hormone estrogen protects a woman’s heart till she obtains menopause. As the hormone levels drop around the age of 50-55, women start to catch up with men in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) rates. However, this trend is changing due to smoking, dangerous weight loss practices, consumption of unhealthy food, high stress and less vigilant screening. Contrary to popular belief, women also stand a greater chance of dying of a heart disease than men due to lack of awareness and preventive action,” said Dr. Vinod Sharma, vice-chief executive officer and head of cardiology services, National Heart Institute.
O.P. Yadav, CEO, National Heart Institute, said: “Indians have a four-fold higher prevalence and death risk resulting from a heart attack compared to people in other countries.”
He said while the West had been able to slow this pattern through lifestyle changes, the same cannot be said about a developing country.
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The study offers solutions to prevent heart-related diseases. “A diet rich in fruits and vegetables should be the norm. A brisk exercise routine of about 20-30 minutes every day or at least three days in a week is essential for the heart to function well. Everybody should undergo regular health check-ups beyond the age of 35 years,” says the study.