World Heart Day 2022: Cardiovascular diseases killing Indians the most; know about pulmonary embolism & rheumatic condition

On World Heart Day 2022, here's a reminder to watch out and keep yourself safe as the 'silent killer' is lurking in the shadows of your sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy habits, and poor eating patterns.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the world's leading cause of death, claim as many as 17.9 million lives each year, globally.

According to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research and Registrar General of India, India accounts for approximately 60 per cent of the world's heart disease burden.


In the last few years, several celebrities such as KK, Raju Srivastava, Sidharth Shukla, and Puneeth Rajkumar, among others, have succumbed to heart diseases. In all these cases, the cardiac arrest was sudden, not leaving enough time for them to fight back.

Matters Of The Heart
CVDs are categorised into a group of disorders that affect the heart, brain and blood vessels. The disease of the blood vessels that are connected to the heart muscle, brain and arms and legs are categorised under coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease, respectively.

When the heart muscle and valves are damaged from rheumatic fever (caused by streptococcal bacteria), it is called rheumatic heart disease. Dr Praveen Chandra, Chairman, Interventional Cardiology, Heart Institute at Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, says that it is the same bacteria that causes sore throat. "Rheumatic heart disease is very common in India," he adds.

Dr Chandra also lists other heart problems people should be aware of. Dilated cardiomyopathy is caused when the heart is weak, and should not necessarily have any blockages. This is a result of thyroid dysfunction, viral infections or excessive alcohol consumption.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, usually caused by changes in genes (gene mutations), can lead to the thickening of the heart muscle.

Pericardial disease is a condition in which the outer layer (pericardium) of the heart (membrane) gets affected. In India, this tends to happen when a person is suffering from Tuberculosis.

People who are born with heart defects (caused by malformations) that restrict development and functioning are likely to suffer from congenital heart disease.

Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are used to describe when a blood clot - that occurs in the leg veins - bursts and travels to the heart and lungs.

Dr SM Fayaz, Consultant – Internal Medicine at Kinder Women’s Hospital and Fertility Centre, Bengaluru, says that more awareness is needed on a few heart conditions to avoid an episode in the future. "People should be aware of ischaemic heart diseases (caused by narrowed arteries), valvular heart diseases (due to damaged valves) and congenital heart diseases," he says.

Know The Risk Factors
Leading a poor lifestyle is one of the primary factors that can make people vulnerable to the risk of heart disease. Experts advise adopting a healthier lifestyle to curb the possible occurrence of a future cardiac condition.

Lifestyle diseases like high cholesterol, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and obesity, among other things, are the main causes that put an individual's heart at risk.

People who smoke, drink alcohol, have no physical activity, or indulge in junk food can also cause heart problems. Leading a stressful life, and/or having congenital conditions or a family history of heart problems are also prone to cardiac problems.

Explaining heart attacks, Dr Chandra says that cardiac arrest is caused due to blockages in the arteries. "These blockages can be a result of diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, stress and sedentary lifestyles," he says.

Listen To Your Heart
Heart diseases are termed a 'silent killer' for a reason. It doesn't show any signs or mild symptoms. In some cases, people cannot link the symptoms to any heart condition.

However, the most typical indicator of heart disease is chest pain, which one should never ignore. Some of the common signs include tightness in the chest, feeling heavy, palpitations, and pain in the upper limbs. Many heart attack patients have also experienced signs like increased sweating, breathlessness, belching, dizziness (lightheadedness), heartburn and rapid heartbeat.

In many cases, patients ignore twinges in the chest, thinking it is caused due to acidity, tiredness, chest heaviness, indigestion and/or breathing difficulty due to lack of regular exercise. These pointers can be a much deeper cardiac issue.

Early Detection Is Important
The key to managing any heart problem is early diagnosis. Experts believe early detection can help identify future heart problems before it is too late.

If the heart issue is discovered at an early stage, numerous catheter-based procedures can be performed. Without early detection, people will report symptoms only in the later stages when the condition can only be managed not prevented or cured. Hence, Dr Chandra suggests a routine check-up once every six months. A routine visit will help catch any underlying ailment early on and help cure it. "With early detection, a lot of the cases wherein people pass away without having symptoms can be avoided and underlying, hidden issues can be caught," he adds.

Dr Fayaz also recommended common precautionary measures such as limiting fatty and junk food intake, engaging in regular physical activity, and avoiding exercise while experiencing mild chest pain. "People with diabetes and hypertension should control their conditions and avoid a stressful lifestyle," he adds.

Try this out: adopt a healthier life, go for a 30-minute walk every day, drink a lot of water, eat homemade food, and ditch processed food. One must also take time out from their everyday routine to move about.