Actor Sidharth Shukla died on Thursday (September 2) at the age of 40. A heart attack was reported to be the reason behind his sudden demise. However, doctors at the Cooper Hospital have said the reason behind his shocking death will be established after the post-mortem. Earlier, actress Mandira Bedi’s director husband Raj Kaushal died due to a cardiac arrest at the age of 49. Gujarati film actor Amit Mistry also succumbed to a heart attack in April this year at the age of 47.
The death of celebrities who are in their 40s due to heart attack points to a larger trend of relatively younger people suffering from cardiac arrest. It was earlier believed that heart disease is a problem suffered by senior people - who are already weak and often have comorbidities. But not anymore.
Research presented at the 2019 conference of the American College of Cardiology states that in the United States, 20 percent of people who have a heart attack are 40 years old or younger; a rate that has risen 2 percent a year for the last 10 years. The study also observed that young patients with heart attacks are at a similar risk of dying as compared to their older counterparts. The trend of decrease in the age group suffering from cardiovascular diseases is observed in other countries as well.
"It has been quite distressing to see such a high incidence of heart disease in India. Recently heart ailments have become quite common among young people. According to Cardiology Society of India, 25 percent of people who die of heart attack are under the age of 35 years," shares Dr Manoj Kumar, Senior Director Cardiology, Head of interventional cardiology, Max hospital Delhi.
He further adds, "A study published in Lancet recently concluded that people born after 1970 are at an elevated risk of developing heart disease because they are inclined to lead a sedentary lifestyle."
Unhealthy eating with no or limited physical activity can also trigger the risk."
He added that smoking is a major health risk.
"One of the modifiable risk factors is smoking. As we know smoking kills and it affects the vital organs of the body. In many young patients, smoking is a common concern reported these days," Dr. Udyavar said.