Doctors at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) reach out to Youth and children to educate on the rise of Cardiac Diseases in the younger generation through a Mega Camp at Venkateshwar International School at Dwarka

• FEHI study shows youth under 25 at a greater risk for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
• 100% increases in cardiac diseases in people under 45 years of age

New Delhi, April 13, 2015: In an effort to spread awareness of the rising cause of cardiac diseases in the youth, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) is organizing a mega camp at Dwarka, a first on ground initiative to educate youth to lead a healthy lifestyle and dietary and regular exercise pattern.

FEHI has been deeply involved in the delivery of heart care in the country for 25 years. During this time, doctors are pointing at an increasing pattern of the disease affecting the youth, especially in the recent few years. FEHI studies have helped to identify what ails the young Indian heart to take prevention and the cure of cardiac diseases to a more comprehensive and advanced level.

The team of doctors who will be present to interact with the youth at the Mega Camp include Dr. Ashok Seth, Chairman, Dr. T S Kler, Executive Director, Cardiac Sciences; Dr. Atul Mathur, Director Interventional Cardiology, Dr. Praveer Agarwal, Director Interventional Cardiology; Dr. Z S Meharwal, Director of Cardiac Surgery, Dr. Yugal Mishra, Director Department of Cardiac Surgery andDr. Aparna Jaswal, PrincipalConsultant in the Department of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology.

With this objective, FEHI will be reaching out to India’s youth with several on ground engagement initiatives to educate youth in their 20’s and 30s, who may now be susceptible to the disease. The doctors will encourage the youth to follow a healthy lifestyle and conduct heart disease screenings across multiple locations and touch points. They will also inculcate an understanding of heart diseases in children among parents and teachers.

Doctors will be covering various aspects of cardiac diseases and focusing on how India is the global capital for diabetes and hypertension. With the highest population affected with these disorders recorded and how these two disorders are bases for any disease particularly the heart, the team of doctors from FEHI will stress upon the factors that are or can be a risk to the most important organ in the body. They will also educate them on prevention of the risks and minimalizing them through a sustained regime of well managed lifestyle; healthy dietary foods and disciplined physical exercises/ fitness.

The camp, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, will extend free consultation and tests to the people who will attend the event to determine the levels of damages.

Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Delhi, said, “Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in India and Asia. It is increasingly affecting younger people over the last 10-15 years. The spike in cardiac diseases in the Youth is due to sedentary and stressful lifestyles that accompany high pressure jobs. Unhealthy diets and addictions like smoking and tobacco chewing are added factors. With changing social norms, women today enjoy an equal footing in the society and are working longer hours, shouldering greater stress and dual responsibility of home and career. All these aspects exacerbate the early onset of the disease.”

“With over 3 million deaths due to cardiovascular diseases every year, India will likely be the ‘heart disease capital of the world’, in a few years. It is estimated that by 2020, cardiovascular disease will be the cause of over 40 per cent deaths and nearly 50% deaths will be from India. Coronary artery disease has risen 10 times in the young men aged less than 40 years in the last 20 years and the average age of heart attack is also getting lower with nearly 50% of the Indian population in youth less than 30 years in the next 15 – 20 years could create an epidemic of heart disease unless we start taking precautions in our childhood and early adulthood. Each one of us therefore carries the responsibility of alleviating this potential burden by propagating the need for a healthy lifestyle,”Dr. Seth added.

Heart ailments have become the biggest killer in the country. The current scenario demands an immediate emphasis be laid on preventive healthcare. This involves raising awareness about the disease and its risk factors. Efforts should be made to stop leading an unhealthy lifestyle which may lead to a cardiovascular disease later for which the education and guidance should begin early.

Dr. Somesh Mittal, Facility Director, FEHI said, “In a span of 8 years,there has been a 100% increase in below 45 years age group admitted at FEHI for Coronary Artery Diseases (CAD) from 2004 to 2011. Of this, the majority increase has been in the age group less than 25 years. People in the age group 25-44 years demonstrated a stable trend for CAD. With our team of doctors who are unparalleled in their level of skills and achievement, conducting public education programmes, workshops and counseling sessions for creating awareness at a mass level will go a long way.”

Cardiovascular diseases would be the largest cause of death and disability in India by 2020 as per a World Health Organisation (WHO) report. According to recent data, approximately 30 percent of the urban population and 15 percent of the population living in rural areas suffer from high blood pressure and heart attacks. As the risk factors of heart ailments increase, so does the mortality rate. 2.4 million Indians die due to heart disease every year. The average age of people with heart ailments is coming down to patients as young as 20 years of age. CCI Newswire