India- The World Capital of Heart Attacks

Bangalore: Heart disease was very rare to find in India a century ago. Unfortunately, a recent study by Registrar General of India (RGI) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has a shocking revelation.  It states that our country accounts for about 60 percent of heart disease patients worldwide.

About 25 percent of the deaths between the age group of 25 years to 69 years in India is caused by heart diseases. With a population of 1.2 billion people, India is the second most populated country and also is the capital of heart attacks in the world.

According to World health Organization, India would be the most affected one in 2015 among the 20 million people, who will be killed worldwide due to heart complications.

50 percent of all heart attacks in India occur under the age of 50 years and around 25 percent are affected under the age of 40. It is predicted that the country will be affected with over 1.6 million strokes per year by 2015, causing disabilities on almost a one third among them.

Many organizations are now taking steps to educate both people and the doctors on the causes and preventive measures of Heart attack. The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) has launched educational “Networks” of renowned specialists in Cardiology, Diabetes, and Stroke to help in increase the standard of education for physicians who are of Indian origin in the U.S.