Young Hearts at Risk: Why Heart Attacks Are Striking Indians in Their 30s and 40s
Dr. Chirag D, Consultant – Interventional Cardiology, Aster Whitefield Hospital
Heart attacks used to be thought of as something that happened to people in their 60s or 70s. But
walk into any cardiac ward in India today, and you’ll see a far younger crowd — men and
women in their 30s and 40s. It’s a frightening shift, and one that makes us stop and ask: Why are
young Indians suddenly facing such a big heart health crisis?
The evolving face of heart disease
Indian hearts have always been more prone to heart disease than Western hearts, but what’s
shocking is that it’s appearing so early. Some of this is genetic. South Asians are predisposed to
heart disease because of the way our bodies metabolize cholesterol and store fat. But genetics
don’t tell the whole story about why young people are ending up in emergency wards. It’s the
perfect storm of today’s lifestyles, stress, and neglected health that’s driving the issue.
Stress, work culture, and sleepless nights
Take the manner in which we toil and live nowadays. Long office hours, late-night deadlines,
endless commutes, and the need to “hustle” are the norm. Throw in sleepless nights, irregular
meals, and a perpetual state of being “on”, it’s no wonder the heart is strained. Chronic stress
raises blood pressure, enhances sugar cravings, and fuels inflammation within the body, all of
which speed up heart damage.
Lifestyle choices we don’t think twice about
Sedentary lifestyle, weekend binge drinking, and smoking are other major offenders. Hopping
from the couch to swiping into the wee hours isn’t only bad for your belly, it also decreases your
“good” cholesterol and makes your blood vessels more rigid. Teenagers believe they’re too active
to be concerned, but the reality is, arteries don’t distinguish between 35 and 65. Risk factors
silently accumulate over the years until something breaks.
Hidden conditions that worsen it
What’s most concerning is when young adults don’t take seriously any condition like high blood
pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Most people don’t initiate follow-ups with their doctor
when they are supposed to, because they feel “too young” to have these conditions. These “silent
but deadly” conditions can reduce the function of the heart for years and have no symptoms. By
the time you experience chest pain and/or shortness of breath, it may be too late.
The role of diet and pollution
Diets in India are changing too; traditional food is quietly fading into the background and is
being replaced by processed foods, sugary beverages, and snacks heavy in trans-fats. Add to that
the increasing incidence of air pollution in our cities, which inflames blood vessels and reduces
oxygen supply, and now you also add another layer of risk.
What can be done?
The scary part about this trend is that it feels sudden. The great thing is that a lot of this is
preventable. Simple things, such as sensible meals, exercising every day, going to bed at a
reasonable time, and reducing smoking and drinking, do make a difference. Routine health
checks even simple blood pressure and cholesterol check in your 30s will get you ahead of any
issues.”. Stress reduction is no longer a luxury; whether yoga, meditation, or simply keeping the
screens off for a bit, your heart requires downtime as much as your mind does.
Heart attacks among young Indians are no longer uncommon headlines; they’re an expanding
reality. But it doesn’t have to be our fate. By paying attention to our bodies, honoring our
boundaries, and prioritizing heart health every day, we can rewrite this narrative. Because no 35-
year-old needs to be struggling to survive in a cardiac ICU when the issue could have been
avoided by making tiny but consistent adjustments.
