‘15pc of heart attack cases in Karachi are young adults’

Every day, 40 to 45 people are brought to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in Karachi with heart attacks, and alarmingly, up to 15 percent of these patients are aged between 25 and 40, cardiologists warned on Thursday and attributed this rise in heart disease among the younger population to obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and smoking.

They said sedentary lifestyle, including physical inactivity and poor dietary habits, in Karachi were leading to obesity, which was resulting in the early onset of diabetes, hypertension and most worryingly, cardiovascular diseases.

People in the 20s were now becoming diabetics and hypertensive, which were two main risk factors for heart attacks at young age, they added.

Addressing an awareness event at the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP), Prof Tahir Sagheer, executive director of the NICVD, expressed concern over the growing number of heart attack patients in younger demography. He stressed the need for making lifestyle changes to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

The event was organised by the NICVD in collaboration with the Discovering Hypertension Project and ACP. It featured a thematic theatre performance designed to promote heart health awareness.

The performance highlighted the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle with the focus on regular exercise, balanced diet, and avoiding habits that could lead to serious health complications.

Prof Khawar Kazmi, head of preventive cardiology at the NICVD, stressed the need for educating children and adolescents on the dangers of unhealthy lifestyle. "Physical inactivity and poor diet are leading to early onset diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, which significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease," he warned.