There is a spurt in incidences of heart attacks lately. Every other day there is some or the other headline about how a person as young as 17 year old to as old as 40 years. There have been so many cases till today that it is no more shocking but only saddening to see people so young as teenagers prone to heart ailments. Cardiovascular health problems were supposed to be an ordeal of older age, but no more. A sedentary lifestyle is ascribed as the major contributor to this.

So what is the exactly that is causing this major concern.? How exactly can we help to lower the risk of heart disease?

HEART ATTACK IN TEENAGER: MAJOR CAUSES AND FACTORS

Elaborating on the same, Dr. Bharav Vijay Purohit, Sr. Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and director of Cath Lab, Yashoda Hospital, Hyderabad said that factors which lead to heart attack are modifiable or non modifiable(like genetic , male sex , age). In order to reduce the burden of heart disease and heart attack we need to address these modifiable factors from early childhood.

• With changing societal norms we are seeing kids becoming more and more sedentary.
• No exercise
• No outdoor games
• Getting hooked to video games, mobile, laptop and other gadgets.
• They are more stressed out due to an increasingly competitive environment and pressure from parents, teachers and institutions to perform.
• Another menace is poor eating habits making them addicted to eating junk food like pizza,burgers, pastries, cakes, ice cream, donuts, french fries, chips, sugar-sweetened beverages etc.
• Increasing incidence of Smoking, chewing tobacco, gutka, e-cigarettes, alcohol etc.

Identifying all the above and making the kids change their lifestyle to more healthy one requires patience, understanding kids psychology and perseverance . Seeds for an adult getting a heart attack are sown in childhood and if we can address these and make a positive lifestyle change we can probably prevent a heart attack and reduce the burden of heart disease in society

HEART ATTACK IN TEENAGERS: 4 WAYS TO LOWER THE RISK

1. STRESS MANAGEMENT: A student’s life can be stressful in ways not everyone comprehends. While it may sound a little naive, but it is true. A lot of teens have academic pressure, peer pressure and other things to deal with. Therefore, bad mental stress impacts mental health and carid health as well given the other sedentary lifestyle habits.
2. SAY NO TO SMOKING: According o several studies, it has been observed that 90% of young heart attacks occur in those who smoke. Also, in today’s contemporary era, young minds to develop an addiction for smoking stressing all their organs at once.
3. WHAT ARE YOU EATING? Fried food, junk after tuition classes, hanging out with friends, or stress eating all lead to adding up calories and carbs to the body. Processed food intake has risen exponentially. It is imperative to instill a balanced dietary practice in the routine of teenagers. It will not help with physical health but all enhance mental health and cognitive functioning of the body. It further can also help with stress management.
4. AVOID LONG SCREEN HOURS: Sitting in one place for a long duration is extremely unhealthy. And screentime makes all of us do that. Sometimes we are bound by it and sometimes screentime is a way to relax as well. Kids and teens also indulge in video gaming and online gaming which also occupy alot of their with screens. It is bad for the eyes, brain, physical health and puts a lot os mental stress as well.

All these things combined put a lot of pressure pom the heart and teenagers become vulnerable to heart diseases.