Why Indians need cardiac tests much earlier

Indian adults, over the age of 20, have seen a three to four per cent rise in heart diseases in rural areas and an eight to 10 per cent increase in urban areas, making it imperative that we pay greater attention to cardiac tests even when asymptomatic.

A study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3028954/) pointed out that even Indians who are living outside the country are more susceptible to heart diseases.

Brajesh Kumar Mishra, consultant cardiology at the Manipal Hospital, Gurugram, said keeping family history and the presence of comorbidities in mind, Indians should have evaluations much earlier than the 40 years prescribed by the American Heart Association.

Research has shown that a higher frequency of annual health checks is associated with better blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol; and that when all these factors are under control better cardiac health is ensured.

There are many myths that prevent Indians from getting these tests, Mishra said.

The first is that preventive checks are for older patients. Second is that people think if they don’t have symptoms then they won’t need any tests. However, if there is a family history and associated comorbidity, then the person is likely to suffer from hypertension and diabetes. These are mostly asymptomatic diseases and, if detected early, can prevent late complications.

The third myth is that these tests are costly and unaffordable, but the fact is that if a person detects these conditions early, one can prevent complications like heart attacks and strokes, which are debilitating. If detected in an early stage, these can be simply taken care of by interventions like physical exercises.

Another myth is that one requires health check-ups only for serious diseases. However, if one checks before the inception of disease, one may remain healthy lifelong by adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Tests for heart health range from very simple to complex. A simple assessment of BP, diabetes, and lipid profile is a starting point, as is a reading of renal parameters and lipoproteins among others. More advanced tests include echocardiography and treadmill CT calcium score.