Heart disease on rise among young expats
INDIANS IN 35-45 AGE GROUP MOST VULNERABLE TO CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE IN UAE
Indians in 35-45 age group most vulnerable to coronary artery disease |
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) in the UAE is striking younger people in the age group of 35-45 with the incidence being highest in Asian expatriates and Indian expatriates being the most vulnerable, a recent clinical study has indicated.
The clinical study conducted by Aster Hospitals, Dubai, covers the period between midJune to mid-September 2018 and covered 142 patients who were referred to their cardiac cath laboratoratories in the UAE with manifestation of CAD. Of these nearly 106 patients were under the age of 55.
Nearly 66.2 per cent of the patients were Indians with 14.2 being from Pakistan. Other expatriates were from Bangladesh, the Philippines, UK, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria and Serbia.
Elaborating on the nature of the data, Dr Sachin Upadhyaya, specialist cardiologist, said: “Heart disease is striking nearly a decade earlier in people of the Indian subcontinent. This study is based on pure empirical data and it is a cause for concern that now 30-40- yearolds are stricken by CAD.”
Giving further details on the nature and scope of the study, Dr Naveed Ahmad, specialist interventional cardiologist at Aster Hospitals, said: “The main cause for worry is the fact that the mean age for CAD in this region is much lower than the rest of the world where the high risk group falls in the age group of 55 and above. In our study of 142 patients who were referred to us in various stages of CAD requiring surgical intervention, 57 per cent of them were in the age group of 40-60 years, 74.6 per cent were in less than 55 years of age group followed by 31.7 per cent who were less than 45 years of age with only 11.3 per cent being above the age of 61. Nearly 88 per cent of patients were from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and neighbouring countries.” Dr Ahmad said the study reflected what was the tip of an iceberg of the widespread incidence of CAD.
Prevention better than cure
The study corroborates data from previous studies that indicate that Asian males, especially from the Indian subcontinent, have a genetic predisposition to cardiovascular and coronary artery diseases.
Dr V. Ramanathan, medical director of Aster Hospitals, said: “While age, gender and genetics are non-modifiable factors, other factors such as life style changes, five servings of fruit and vegetables, healthier diets with high nutritional value, cutting out smoking, getting physical exercise and reducing stress levels are things that can be modified and have a great impact on reduction of the incidence of CAD.
“In the index of symptoms in our study we found that people who were diabetics, were smokers or suffered from high cholesterol, hypertension and other conditions were high risk category and had developed CAD earlier.”
The doctors cautioned that the younger generation that normally thinks itself to be invincible needs to be educated and must go in for earlier preventive checks. The team will continue to document similar cases and continue to collate clinical data to widen the scope of the study.