Epidemiological studies carried out by world cardiologists in various hospitals from major cities in India have revealed that majority population above 40 years of age are prone to increased risk of heart attacks.

Epidemiology is the study of the patterns causes and effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations, and is used to formulate public health policies.

Cardiologists from across the world who have embarked on a mission of big data compilation have revealed that heart attacks in those between 40 and 60 years have increased many folds during the past one decade.

The main objective of this big data compilation by the cardiologists is to ascertain the trends the driving pattern of treatment and preventive strategies in the Indian population. A series of epidemiological studies carried out in India as part of this indigenous data compilation, shows that the prevalence of coronary heart disease is between 7 and 13 per cent in urban areas and 2 and 7 per cent in rural areas.

According to Dr. Rahul Potluri, senior cardiologists and researcher, this collection of data is now allowing doctors to decode the pattern and understand the age-groups which are at risk. “More than 20 per cent of Indian population living in western countries are at higher risk of total chronic occlusion of heart blood vessels compared to that of the local population living in India. Particularly the younger generations are 30 per cent at higher risk of having diabetes than compared with the Caucasian population,” says Dr. Rahul.

According to experts these epidemiological studies also show that there are 30 million cases of heart disease in India and that 50 per cent of Indians below 55 years suffer from heart attacks while 25 per cent of heart attacks occur under the age of 40 years.

Cardiologists reveal that the increased burden of heart disease is due to the prevalence of coronary risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, smoking, abdominal obesity, sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity.  “One of the most important causes of premature heart attacks in India is because of familial hyper cholesterolemia,” says Dr. Shiv Shanker, prominent cardiologists from the city.

Familial hyper cholesterolemia is a genetic condition which leads to high cholesterol in the body. The body stores fat as it believes that it will have to starve some day. Due to this reason, the cholesterol levels are increased. Studies have shown that heart attacks in younger patients are due to this reason.