<p>The amount of stress young people are going through today is equivalent to the health hazard that is caused by smoking, said Dr C N Manjunath, Director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, during a talk on Thursday.</p>.<p>Addressing advocates belonging to Advocates’ Association Bangalore on the topic, ‘How to avoid heart attack and maintain heart health’, he said, 30% of heart attacks today occur in people under 55 years of age -- a number much higher than those recorded over last three decades.</p>.<p>“A 2019 study by the Jayadeva Institute showed that 51% of heart patients under 55 were smokers, 10% had high blood pressure or cholesterol levels and 16% had a family history of heart disease,” he said. “But what was a bother was nearly 25% of those studied had none of these conventional risk factors and had still experienced cardiac distress at a young age,” he added.</p>.<p>While there are other risk factors such as drug abuse, alcohol consumption and complications arising from lung diseases caused by air pollution, one of the most prominent risk factors for young people is chronic stress, he said and added, “Young people are extremely ambitious with unrealistic expectations about achieving success. They overwork themselves to an unhealthy limit and are forced to do so by societal pressure. Food habits have changed adversely over the last decade and made people more prone to heart problems.”</p>.<p>He suggests five solutions to fight the onset of cardiac diseases. “We must regulate intake of salt, quit smoking, stop leading sedentary lifestyles and beat stress. I also recommend that all men above 35 and women above 45 take annual heart health checkups to scan for issues and get early treatment, which can save lives,” he said.</p>
<p>The amount of stress young people are going through today is equivalent to the health hazard that is caused by smoking, said Dr C N Manjunath, Director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, during a talk on Thursday.</p>.<p>Addressing advocates belonging to Advocates’ Association Bangalore on the topic, ‘How to avoid heart attack and maintain heart health’, he said, 30% of heart attacks today occur in people under 55 years of age -- a number much higher than those recorded over last three decades.</p>.<p>“A 2019 study by the Jayadeva Institute showed that 51% of heart patients under 55 were smokers, 10% had high blood pressure or cholesterol levels and 16% had a family history of heart disease,” he said. “But what was a bother was nearly 25% of those studied had none of these conventional risk factors and had still experienced cardiac distress at a young age,” he added.</p>.<p>While there are other risk factors such as drug abuse, alcohol consumption and complications arising from lung diseases caused by air pollution, one of the most prominent risk factors for young people is chronic stress, he said and added, “Young people are extremely ambitious with unrealistic expectations about achieving success. They overwork themselves to an unhealthy limit and are forced to do so by societal pressure. Food habits have changed adversely over the last decade and made people more prone to heart problems.”</p>.<p>He suggests five solutions to fight the onset of cardiac diseases. “We must regulate intake of salt, quit smoking, stop leading sedentary lifestyles and beat stress. I also recommend that all men above 35 and women above 45 take annual heart health checkups to scan for issues and get early treatment, which can save lives,” he said.</p>