Heart attacks among youngsters on the rise
The Hindu
Doctors say high-intensity exercise is one of the precipitating factors in general
The death of Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar has again brought into focus the increasing incidence of heart attacks among the young. Doctors, who said the trend is on the rise in the last few years, pointed out that over 30% of such “unfortunate” victims do not have any conventional risk factors or family history.
With several cases of people collapsing during a workout or after returning from the gym being reported, doctors said high-intensity exercise is a precipitating factor in such cases.
Puneeth too complained of chest pain after his routine workout in the morning and was taken to their family doctor where an ECG was done. He was then referred to Vikram Hospitals. Doctors at Vikram Hospitals said the actor was non-responsive and was in cardiac asystole when he was brought there. Also referred to as cardiac flatline, asystole is the state of total cessation of electrical activity from the heart, which means no tissue contraction from the heart muscle and therefore no blood flow to the rest of the body.