When CAD gets hyper at the young...

Heart attacks are silent killers that strike unexpectedly and without warning. Poor lifestyle habits combined with stress can add to the trouble, warns Dr Karthik Vasudevan

The term cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to a broad range of disorders that have an impact on the heart and blood vessels. It mainly signifies diseases like atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease (CAD), and cerebrovascular disease that leads to heart attack or stroke due to narrowed or obstructed blood vessels. Though the elderly populations are frequently thought to be the only group at risk for CVD, it can afflict anyone, at any age, and it affects teens and young adults more frequently than most people think. Younger people usually aren’t aware of the danger and thus they might not take the necessary precautions to protect themselves. The greatest strategy to reduce the risk related to cardiac illness is to educate young adults, kids, and parents about the risk factors. Some of the risk factors include Type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and dyslipidaemia which are all antecedents to CVD. Young individuals may experience serious health issues if it is not diagnosed at an early age. The most prevalent kind of cardiac disease is Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) also known as ischaemic heart disease or coronary heart disease. A heart attack may be the initial indication of CAD in some patients. Young CAD is the term used to describe CAD that develops before the age of 45. However, a number of researches show that the age limit of young CAD ranges from 30 to 40 years, whereas in the past, heart attacks were not common in this age group. It has been reported that men are more prone to CAD than women due to the presence of estrogen hormone.

Once a woman reaches menopause, estrogen is lowered and the risk of CAD becomes higher. Hypertension, diabetes, smoking, stress, physiologically aged, male sex, and high cholesterol levels are some of the risk factors for developing CAD. Maintaining a good lifestyle, eating healthy, regular exercise, avoiding smoking, moderate alcohol intake and less stress levels can help in reducing the risk of CAD in youngsters. Sometimes it’s necessary to use medication to prevent the risk of CAD (Primary Prevention) and statins, or cholesterol-lowering medications are helpful in this respect.

(The author is a senior consultant-interventional cardiology & heart failure specialist.)