Manu (name changed), in his 40s, was a regular runner covering around five kilometres every morning. But gradually, he found himself struggling to run even one or two kilometres, and felt tired and breathless. “He was experiencing tiredness and heaviness in his chest. However, he did not pay attention to the symptoms initially. It was only when his reduced stamina began to interfere with his routine that he consulted me,” recollected Dr Vijo George, consultant interventional cardiologist at the Ernakulam General Hospital.
What Manu experienced were early symptoms of heart disease. “When a person who regularly goes to the gym, runs or engages in physical activity experiences a decline in exercise capacity, they should not ignore it and should consult a doctor. Identifying such symptoms early can help prevent a heart attack and related complications. The treatment varies depending on the stage of the disease,” said Dr Vijo.
However, according to him, many people ignore the symptoms for several months, leading to heart attacks detected in the final stage, requiring hospital admissions and procedures.
The 2023 study – Impact of Lifestyle Modifications on Cardiovascular Health: A Narrative Review – found that lifestyle modifications have a profound impact on cardiovascular health. “Implementing healthy habits, such as regular physical activity, a balanced diet, smoking cessation, stress management, and adequate sleep, can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and improve overall cardiovascular well-being,” stated the study.
The incidence of CVDs has been on the rise, with more young people now affected by the condition. “When we talk about cardiovascular risk factors, they include high cholesterol values, high blood pressure values, smoking, and elevated blood sugar. These are the most important conventional risk factors. Recently, the data show that in younger subsets, especially in the Indian and South Asian populations, we see more and more of these conventional risk factors because of the poor lifestyle,” said Dr Deepak Davidson, chief interventional cardiologist at Caritas Hospital, Kottayam.
Stressing the significance of physical activity, he highlighted that obesity leads to hypertension, increased triglyceride and cholesterol values, and diabetes.
“So, one important thing that we commonly come across nowadays is physical inactivity. Nobody goes to the playground. Obese people have a twofold increased risk of developing heart attacks compared to somebody who’s not obese,” added Dr Deepak.
Dr Vijo added that consumption of junk food containing trans fat causes obesity and elevated bad cholesterol. “Combined with lifestyle changes, we see stress leading to heart health issues in youngsters. Nowadays, every job has stress, targets to achieve, and deadlines to meet in a competitive environment. In this scenario, young people should also give priority to leisure activities to deal with high stress levels. High stress also ends up in smoking, which is another major reason for heart disease,” he said.
Since the number of youngsters using drugs is on the rise, Dr Vijo cautioned that drug use, especially synthetic drugs, can cause a heart attack.
Shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, stomach pain, or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back can also be symptoms of heart attacks, and prompt treatment can prevent complications. “Compared to people in foreign countries, our response to symptoms is delayed. People develop chest discomfort during heavy activity, and it disappears after some rest. It can be angina, which is an early symptom of heart disease. People do not give importance to these symptoms and develop complications when they reach the hospital. Severe chest pain during a heart attack happens in only 10% of people. 90% of people do not have very severe chest pain,” stressed Dr Deepak.
Experts are warning that the incidence of CVDs can only come down by bringing about changes to lifestyle habits. “One should also understand that lifestyle modification is not the only way to prevent a heart attack. Regular exercise and being fit would certainly go a long way in reducing risks of getting a heart attack,” he said.
He added that skipping essential medications to control BP and sugar will also increase the risk of heart attacks. “When a person needs certain medications to bring down cholesterol, sugar levels, or blood pressure, relying only on lifestyle modification will cause damage,” he pointed out.