THE SAGA OF FAILING YOUNG HEARTS

STRESSED OUT AND SLEEPLESS

- SINDUJA JANE @Chennai

SURIYA (32) had been under tremendous stress because his wife and seven-year-old son were settled in the UK and his attempts to get a job there did not yield any success. He was missing his family. The thought that he couldn’t join them in the UK took a toll on him, contributing to his deteriorating health condition, which ultimately resulted in a heart attack. However, he was lucky as he reached the hospital immediately when he experienced chest pain.

“When the angiogram was performed, it showed multiple blocks including a block in the major heart vessel. A bypass surgery was performed. The patient is doing fine now, and wife is by his side,” said Dr G Sengottuvelu, interventional cardiologist and head of structural interventions at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. “These days I see aged parents bringing their children with complaints of heart problems,” he added.

Doctors say they are seeing more youngsters nowadays with heart attacks and the cause may be multifactorial — early onset of diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels because of changing lifestyle, change in dietary habits, and stress.