Why Are Heart Problems In Young Individuals Rising? Expert Explains Causes

In recent years, there has been a concerning uptick in heart problems among young individuals, raising alarms among healthcare professionals and researchers alike. Factors contributing to this troubling trend include sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy dietary habits, and escalating stress levels. The rise of technology has led to decreased physical activity, while a preference for processed foods has become more prevalent. 

Moreover, mounting academic and professional pressures have exacerbated stress, potentially impacting heart health. To address this issue, a comprehensive approach involving education, lifestyle modifications, and early detection is imperative to curb the rising incidence of heart problems among the youth.

Dr Balbir Singh, Chairman - Cardiac Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket explains, the causes, concerns, and lifestyle factors contributing to heart diseases. 

Also read: Adult Education May Help Middle-Aged People Lower Risk Of Dementia: Study

Why Are Heart Problems Increasing In Young Individuals? Check Causes And Concerns 

Dr Singh explains, “Concerns are that in India we see heart disease at least one or two decades earlier than we see in the West. So there is a genetic predisposition of Indians towards coronary disease and heart attacks and this is one of the biggest concerns that we have and one of the reasons why we have a higher degree of heart disease in India is because of the high incidence of diabetes.” 

He further explains, “We have the highest diabetes in the world. We have hypertension and smoking as additional risk factors. We can see smoking incidence come down in many countries in the West while it's going up in our country. That is another major concern that we have.”

Lifestyle Factors Contributing To Heart Disease In Young Adults

Dr Singh shares, “One of the major reasons is that there is a lot of junk food consumption with the young individuals, a lot of eating happens because we have easy access to junk food, high-calorie food, red meat which adds on a lot of drinking and smoking which adds on with this food. If you go to any mall, or anywhere in any market, there are so many shops selling fast food which contains a lot of calories, a lot of fat and that are being consumed as the staple diet. We are not using fresh fruits, or vegetables as our staple diet.” 

Dr Singh further explains “Another thing that I've seen is stress has been a big factor in youngsters. There is so much competition, fight for the same positions, rubbing off shoulders and this all is adding on to the stress which is adding on to many problems which are happening in our country.” 

Dr Singh further shares “These young individuals have targets to fulfill, have to reach a particular level that causes a lot of stress and unless we stop this vicious cycle, we could be in very serious trouble because we wouldn't have enough medical facilities to handle this population and this young population is a bread earning population.” 

“As per WHO data, India accounts for the majority of heart attacks in the world particularly the youngsters where people aged less than 50 years. This population contributes to 50 per cent of the heart attacks in the world. India’s death rate from heart attack has increased from 22.7 lakhs to 47.7 lakhs which has more than doubled in the last 30 years.. So this delineates the concerns we have toward heart disease as a major causeway of a problem,” Singh said.