NEW DELHI: Doctors across India are now treating heart patients they rarely saw ten years ago. Many are fit, working professionals in their early 30s, with no family history or warning signs, arriving at emergency wards in the middle of a heart attack.
Experts say that what was once rare before age 50 is now common before 40, and the data supports this trend.
Estimates show that 12% to 16% of coronary artery disease cases in India now affect people under 40. Heart attacks are happening to Indians about ten years earlier than in Western countries.
Ahead of World Heart Day, on September 29, experts said heart attacks before 40 among India’s youth have emerged as a new cardiac risk group. They also warn of its impact on men’s sexual health and women’s reproductive well-being.
According to Dr Sanjay Chugh, Director, Cardiology at Aakash Healthcare, Delhi, “We are not just seeing more heart disease - we are seeing it arrive decades ahead of schedule.”
He pointed to a mix of unhealthy eating, habits like smoking and drinking alcohol, lack of exercise, chronic stress, and exposure to environmental pollution, including air pollution. He also mentioned that genetic and family factors make Indians more likely to develop metabolic syndrome X and heart disease, including heart attacks, compared to people in Western countries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that non-communicable diseases cause over 60% of deaths in India. Heart disease alone is responsible for nearly a quarter of all deaths, making it the country’s biggest killer.
Dr LK Jha, Associate Director and Head, Unit-II Cardiology at Asian Hospital, Faridabad, said genetics is a key factor.
“In addition, heart disease is rising in this group because of different lifestyle factors. Compared to Western populations, Indians usually have lower levels of protective HDL cholesterol, higher rates of type 2 diabetes, more belly fat, and a greater risk of high blood pressure. This underlying risk is met with a food environment full of packaged foods and street food high in trans fats, which makes the problem much worse."
Smoking, along with the growing use of vapes and flavoured tobacco among young Indians, adds to the problem. It damages the lining of blood vessels and speeds up the narrowing process, which is now happening much earlier than before.
"Trans fats in particular are strongly linked to heart attacks and strokes," added Dr Rajendra Patil, Consultant, Cardiology from Jupiter Hospital, Pune. “And most people eating them three times a day have no idea what is actually in their"Sedentary routines make things worse. Long commutes, desk jobs, and spending a lot of time on screens have quietly taken physical activity out of daily life for millions of young Indians, even those who think they are fairly healthy.
Cardiologists now recommend starting cholesterol and blood pressure checks in your 20s instead of waiting until your 40s. They also want workplaces to take chronic stress seriously and for air pollution, long seen as only a lung problem, to be recognised as a heart risk too.
"This is not a problem we can solve just by treating patients after they arrive at the hospital,” added Dr Chugh. “We need people in their 20s to come in for heart check-ups just like they would for an eye test. That is the real culture change India needs."