In the past few months, several shocking stories of people suddenly collapsing and, in some cases, dying have emerged on social media. Such incidents have left the experts concerned too, who have warned of the increasing incidents of sudden cardiac deaths. On Friday, two such incidents were reported from Hyderabad - a 24-year-old police constable collapsed and died while working out in a gym and another 40-year-old during a 'haldi' ceremony. More such incidents were reported from across the world, due to which #heartattack became a trending topic on Twitter. The social media is concerned about growing instances of these incidents being reported in young people.
In a short clip circulating on Twitter, a doctor in China is seen helping a young woman, who suffered a heart attack at a theatre. The video shows the woman recovering after two minutes due to the efforts of the doctor and tries to educate what to do during emergency situation like this.
Another similar footage from Hyderabad shows how a quick-thinking policeman in the city's Cyberabad locality saved the life of a man after he collapsed on the road due to a heart attack.
A video of the police officer, Rajasekhar, performing a CPR has been shared widely on social media.
A few weeks ago, another viral video showed an autorickshaw driver in Navi Mumbai collapsing after a sudden heart attack during a ride. Another auto driver tries to revive him by giving CPR, but his efforts go in vain.
The growing number of such cases have alerted health experts too who have come forward with their suggestions in case a person faces such an emergency.
"Sitting in some position, chewing ginger garlic dhaniya Mirch, coughing sneezing laughing. None of these will help in heart attack. Reach a hospital with Cardiac facilities as soon as possible to get appropriate treatment in #Heartattack to save life," Dr Deepak Krishnamurthy, a Bengaluru-based cardiologist, said in a tweet.
According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), one-fifth of all deaths in India are caused by heart attacks, cardiac arrests, and strokes, including in the younger population.
Some reports have linked it to pollution too, but doctors said there are myriad causes and not all of them are on account by pollution.
Dr Ramakanta Panda, the world's leading cardiac surgeon and head of Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute explains, "sudden death is more common in young people because they haven't developed alternative circulation. This is not so in older people. They develop blockages over time and their body gets enough time to work around it and get accustomed to the change."
He advises that chest discomfort/breathlessness on exertion, indicates the possibility of heart problems and further tests are needed to establish the cause.
Other common reasons for heart issues in the young include a family history of heart disease, coexisting medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, lifestyle problems, obesity, stress and lack of exercise.
