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Last week, a 26-year-old athlete collapsed mid-match and died of a heart attack during a kabaddi tournament in Karur district.
How did this sturdy young man suddenly have a heart attack? Why are there so many heart attacks among young people in recent times?
As many as 4 youths have died of heart attacks in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the last one week alone.
How does a heart attack occur?
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The main function of the heart is to transport purified blood to all parts of the body. Blood vessels carry the blood to the body.
Blockage in these blood vessels affects blood flow to the heart. Therefore, the result of the stagnation of oxygen from the heart to other parts of the body is called a heart attack.
A heart attack causes severe pain in the heart. Sometimes the pain caused by gas can resemble the pain of a heart attack.
Why do heart attacks occur?
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Speaking to BBC Tamil about heart attacks, Manohar, professor of cardiology at Chennai Medical College, answered various questions.
Humans are born with 60 milligrams of bad cholesterol (cholesterol) in their bodies.
Over time, the level of bad cholesterol increases due to the effects of many factors such as lifestyle, diet, and stress.
Bad fat that increases like this goes into the bloodstream of people. These blood clots (thrombus) affect the blood flow and cause a heart attack.
Sudden heart attack can be caused by stress or excessive physical activity.
Apart from this, family members are also at risk for heart attacks through our genetic makeup.
Why do young people have heart attacks?
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In recent times, the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest in young people is increasing.
Doctor Manohar said that a study is being conducted on behalf of Chennai Medical College to find out about this.
Through this study, some results have been revealed, he said, after the year 2019, the incidence of heart attacks has increased among people between the ages of 25 and 40.
Men are more likely to have a heart attack than women. He said that this is due to smoking and drinking habits among men.
People with high levels of bad cholesterol and family members who have had a heart attack are more likely to have a heart attack at a young age.
Sudden heart attacks occur in these individuals due to intense exercise, protein supplements taken to increase body mass.
Regular exercise and taking medicines do not cause any harm.
The doctor said that alcoholism, drug addiction and stress are the causes of heart attacks in young people.
“Besides this, the physical activity of the young generation is decreasing. The youth have the habit of going by bike instead of walking even to places near their homes. This increases the bad fat in the body,” he explained.
Is covid infection cause of heart attack?
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People infected with covid are more likely to develop heart attacks as post-covid symptoms.
When you look at young adults who have heart attacks, eight out of 10 have a heart attack due to severe Covid infection.
Dr. Manohar explained that during the covid infection, the blood vessels of the people who were admitted and treated in the intensive care unit got constricted, which resulted in the formation of a blood clot.
Some eat too much food to prepare the body for the covid infection. This creates a favorable environment for the formation of blood clots and causes them to have a heart attack.
He said that one should take healthy food but taking too much food will not benefit the body.
“After the covid infection, the habit of using cell phones has increased among young people. Therefore, taking information received on cell phones as truth and following wrong instructions is also a reason for heart attacks in young people,” said Divya Sathyaraj, a nutritionist who spoke to BBC Tamil.
They indulge in wrong diet, wrong exercise, believing the lifestyle advice given by anonymous people on social media to be true. This causes negative effects and causes heart attacks.
Can exercise cause a heart attack?
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Dr. Manohar, who says that there is no harm in moderate exercise, said, “Some people do physical exercises that put a lot of stress on the body on the first day in the name of reducing the body. It is wrong to do this.”
“People who take up walking should cover a distance of 5 km in 45 minutes. But don’t start from the first day. Start with 1 km in the first week and gradually increase to 5 km. Only then should you aim to walk 5 km in 45 minutes. .Doing this does not put too much pressure on our body,” said the doctor.
Nutritionist Divya says the average person gets 8 hours of sleep. Exercising 4 to 5 times a week is enough. But due to the influence of social media, they exercise more to get ‘six pack’, ‘size zero’. It’s because of doing this that heart attacks happen in the gym,” he said.
How to prevent a heart attack?
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Identify the cause of heart attack and adopt some habits to avoid it. First is the diet. Eat healthy foods. High-fat foods should be taken as little as possible. People with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes should consult a doctor and prescribe a special diet. By doing this, the cause of heart attack can be reduced, says nutritionist Divya.
Everyone over the age of 25 should get their bad cholesterol checked regularly. Manohar said that by knowing the level of bad cholesterol in the body and taking appropriate medicine and food, the risk of heart attack can be avoided.
And people with family members who have had a heart attack, exercise is a must. Dr. Manohar said that this can reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the body.
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