InDiAn DoCtors linK CAses oF heArt AttACK with GenetiCs
Familial Hypercholestrolemia, a genetic disorder, is grossly under-diagnosed and under-treated, though it is found in one out of 250 to 500 cases.
Ateam of Indian doctors has traced the genetic link of heart attack in young people, which is said to be often missed even by cardiologists. If detected in time, this genetic link can drastically reduce the cases of heart attacks in young people.
The doctors of Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH)—Dr J. P. S. Sawhney, chairman of cardiology department, Dr I.C. Verma, chairman of genetics department and genetics student Nitika Setia—have conduct- ed a research to identify Familial Hypercholestrolemia ( FH), a genetic disorder which results in high level of cholesterol and leads to premature heart attacks.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Dr Sawhney, who has specialised in “clinical and preventive cardiology”, said FH is grossly under-diagnosed and undertreated, though it is found in one out of 250 to 500 cases. “Only 1% of such cases are diagnosed. Doctors don’t pick such cases. In the last about three years, we have got about 450 cases of heart attacks in youth, and out of them about 80 had FH,” he said.
“Whenever we come to know about any heart attack case, we ask the patient to get a test of his/her family members done. The test is being done at AIIMS, SGRH, and also in Bangalore. Some private laboratories are also planning to start the test,” he said. The research findings are being sent to international health journals.
The person, on whom the test is conducted, may or may not be having the symptoms of increased cholesterol, but it is always advisable to get the test conducted so that the genetic disorder, if it is present, may be detected in advance and early treatment can be started accordingly.
He said there is need to make people and physicians aware of the disorder so that it could be detected in advance. “There have been cases when family members of a heart patient do not cooperate. They seem to be having problems checked since they do not have any heart disease. But it is always better to rule out the possibility of carrying the FH to avoid any future problem,” he said.
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), which is commonly called heart attack, is common across the world. However, in India, it comes 5-8 years earlier than the rest of the world. Studies say that in India, 40% of heart attack cases occur in young people (less than 55 years of age in men and less than 60 years of age in women).
According to Dr Sawhney, the root cause of young Myocardial Infection (MI), or heart attack, is lipid (bad cholesterol), diabetes, blood pressure, smoking, stress, central obesity, lack of exercise and bad food habits. These give rise to bad cholesterol in the body, which further causes blockage of heart. Citing recent studies, he said ghee and butter are not that dangerous for heart, provided these are taken in limited quantities. The Delhi police last year arrested over 100 dreaded criminals having a reward on their heads and busted over 22 gangs operating in the national capital.
Among the major breakthroughs for the Delhi police was the nabbing of the 35-year old Sonu Dariyapur from Daryapur Kalan village in Delhi. Dariyapur was wanted in cases of murder, robbery, extortion, and was carrying a reward of over Rs 5 lakh.
The Delhi police last year also caught the notorious criminal Ajay Dabas, alias Ajay Barwala, who had fled from the custody of the police while he was being taken to a court in Haryana. After he fled in April last year, he is believed to have gone into a shooting spree and committed four more crimes during that period. He had a reward of Rs 1.5 lakh on his head.
Among the other dreaded criminals caught last year are Sunil, alias Ullu, who was involved in contract killing, and Mohd. Meraj, who was involved in a sensational murder case in Geeta Colony. Ram Babu Paswan, involved in several cases of dacoity and murder in Delhi, was also finally caught by the police last year.
Not only this, the Delhi Police last year was able to bust several important and notorious gangs involved in carrying out criminal activities in and around the national capital.
The “Irani Gang”, which was inspired from the Bollywood movie Special 26 was busted last year after a trap laid by the police. Among the persons arrested from this gang are Nasir Hafiz Khan, Sameer Ali, alias Irani, and two other members.
The police also busted the Anil Dujana gang, which had a group of eight active sharp shooters. The gang was busted by the Delhi police through the help of local intelligence when the police received information regarding a “supari” being given out to them to kill a famous hotelier-cum-real estate magnate based out of Greater Noida.
Gangs like the “Band Baja Barat”, involved in bag lifting in marriages, were also arrested.
The Bunty Gang, which was involved in over 83 cases of snatching and motor vehicle thefts in Delhi, was also arrested late last year.
The infamous “Meter Maar” gang that used to lift mobile phones from shops, in UP, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi was also busted last year.
Special CP, Crime, R.P. Upadhyay said, “Our constant efforts to catch such criminals in Delhi have paid off well. Local level intelligence, including from our beat officers, has done a wonderful job to catch such criminals and bust these infamous gangs carrying out illegal activities in the national capital.”
Upadhyay also pointed out that the porosity of the borders and the national capital being surrounded by three different states on all its sides make it easier for criminals to commit a crime and flee to another state.
“This is a major problem in Delhi that people from the neighbouring states come here, commit their crime and move to some other state. This is the reason we have been having joint meetings and sharing of intelligence and inputs with our counterparts in all these states,” Upadhyay added.