By:- Dr. G Dimpu Edwin Jonathan, Consultant - Interventional Cardiologist, Aster RV Hospital, Bangalore
The unexpected and tragic death of Indian shooting star and renowned Olympics coach Jaspal Rana, aged 49 years, has left the entire sports world stunned. The renowned coach, who was associated with sports throughout his life and recently won gold for his pupil Manu Bhaker, lost his life to heart problems after experiencing pain in the chest while travelling by air.
One worrying trend from past two decades or so is that heart attacks, that used to show up more often in people in their 50s and 60s, are now increasingly being spotted in those in their 30s and 40s. One major contribution is chronic stress plays a huge role, there are enough studies to suggest chronic stress can trigger inflammation that is comparable to the inflammation caused by smoking.
A lot of people today are basically under constant pressure to perform, and often without getting enough recovery time from sleep and rest. On top of that, more and more individuals are leaning on energy drinks to help them keep pushing, like, to do more and more. In the end it all stacks up and creates inflammation in the body, and that becomes the setup for cholesterol to start collecting in the arteries that feed the heart.
Chronic stress also pushes people into something called maladaptive coping. They know they should be doing healthier things, but after a stressful day they might go for burgers, pizza, ice cream, smoking or alcohol just to feel better quickly. That keeps the inflammation going and it also adds extra injury to the artery walls. Put together, chronic stress, maladaptive coping, and sometimes a genetic predisposition, is helping drive heart attacks happening as early as the 30s, or even the 40s.
If you’re above 30 to 35 years of age, especially if you’re living under chronic stress, or you have a family history of young people having heart attacks, it’s wise to get routine blood tests and also sit down with a cardiologist to gauge cardiac risk. A sign that’s often overlooked is a kind of heart attack that shows up and feels exactly like gastritis or classic heartburn.
When heartburn comes with extreme tiredness, giddiness, nausea, vomiting, or even profuse sweating, please don’t delay—get an ECG done right away, to rule out a heart attack. For anyone with a family history of heart attacks, waiting until symptoms appear isn’t a smart strategy.
Regular blood tests, including cholesterol as well as sugar levels, plus monitoring blood pressure, together with a cardiac risk assessment by a cardiologist, can help surface problems early. On top of that, managing stress, making sure sleep is adequate, exercising regularly, and avoiding smoking are all key prevention steps.