Indians at greater risk of heart attack: study

International studies have shown that an Indian doctor settled in the US is 17 times more prone to have a heart attack than his American native colleague, Heart Care Foundation of India President K K Aggarwal said.

People in the country should take lessons from sudden death of some prominent people like Vinod Mehra, Dewang Mehta, Amzad Khan and Sanjiv Kumar in the past, he said.

''They all died with massive heart attack within hours of the onset of symptoms while they were young and at the peak of their careers. Saif Ali Khan also suffered a similar coronary attack but could be revived because of the modern gadgets and drugs available.'' They were speaking at a conference organised with a view to create awareness about the rising incidence of heart disease amongst women and in younger generation in the country.

Escorts Heart Institute Cardiologist T S Kler said coronary artery disease in people less than 45 years of age was quite common in the country and needed agressive management. Their first degree relatives should also be evaluated to prevent the possibility of heart disease.

Children whose father had a heart attack before the age of 55 or mother before the age of 65 should also be subjected to vigorous investigations to rule out underlying heart disease, he said.

Eminent Bharatnatyam exponent Geeta Chandran released a 'red alert' logo on the occasion indicating that men less than 45 years and pre-menopausal women should be on their guard for heart blockages if they had associated risk factors.

Deaths among women due to heart diseases had now out grown all other causes of death, she warned.

UNI IP PA ND1934

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