Disease catching young ‘hearts’

The sedentary lifestyle and the smoking habit of the young generation are leading them to heart disease, a visiting expert said.

Heart diseases are traditionally associated with people over 40 years; however, owing to the changed lifestyle, the diseases are quickly affecting people in their twenties and thirties, said Dr Anil Kumar, who is on a three-day visit to the Kingdom.

The doctor, who is an expert in Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology, said that heart-related diseases among youth are increasing at an alarming rate.

Dr Kumar was speaking to media representatives prior to a public symposium to spread awareness about heart disease yesterday. The symposium, “Escape from Heart disease: The essentials of heart disease prevention” was held here at The Pakistan Club yesterday night.

Dr Kumar, who is a Lead Senior Consultant in Cardiology at Aster Medcity in India, explained that young people should be cautious of the risk of heart disease.

“Earlier heart attacks used to happen to those in their sixties and seventies. But now it is affecting the younger age groups, people in their thirties and twenties. Earlier generations used to earn their livelihood by doing physical work. But now it’s the opposite scenario as we eat and then have to burn it out. The sedentary lifestyle and smoking habits are the main factors that contributes to the increased incidents of heart attack,” he added.