3 Risk Factors That Put Individuals At Risk Of Heart Attacks, Irrespective Of Their Age

Many young people, including celebrities like KK, Siddharth Shukla, Puneeth Rajkumar and Inder Kumar, succumbed to heart attacks. This worrying trend is difficult to ignore because heart attacks were primarily a problem faced by the older generation a few years ago. It was a disease that rarely affected anyone less than 40 years – now, one in five patients suffering from heart attacks is below 40!

Adding to the above fact – suffering from a heart attack in your 20s or early 30s is more common than ever before. Between the years 2000-2016, the heart attack rate increased by 2 percent every year in the young age group. This also does not mean that suffering from a heart attack at a young age will have faster improvement outcomes. If you are in your 20s or 30s and have suffered a heart attack, the chances of you dying from a second major heart attack or stroke is high, which is why this is a concerning fact.

# Diabetes is a critical factor for early heart attack

If a family member has diabetes, they are 2-4 times more likely to die from heart disease than people who don’t have diabetes. This is especially dangerous when the blood sugar is not controlled and kept within a healthy range. Since high blood sugar damages the blood vessels, and increases the chances of fats building up in the person’s arteries, the risk of Atherosclerosis and heart attacks also increase significantly. In addition, people with diabetes also suffer from chronic health conditions like hypertension and cholesterol, which can also lead to coronary issues, including heart attacks. All these chronic conditions are increasing dramatically in young people, which is another grave cause of concern.

# Obesity can increase your chances of heart attack

Being overweight has a significant impact on the risk of a person developing a heart attack at a later stage of their life. This is because for starters, carrying extra weight places a high demand on the human heart. Even if you are otherwise healthy, obesity alone can make a person more likely to have a heart attack. In most obese members of the family, conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol already exist, which can prove fatal and dangerous.

# Smoking cigarettes and vaping

This is a no-brainer – smoking cigarettes can cause heart disease. Chemicals in cigarette smoke cause the cells that line blood vessels to become swollen and inflamed, narrowing the blood vessels, and leading to many cardiovascular conditions. In fact, if a family member is addicted to smoking one pack a day, it doubles their risk of heart attack than non-smokers. While vaping might have fewer risks than cigarette smoking, they are still quite harmful. E-cigarettes contain Nicotine and other toxic compounds that accelerate your heart rate and raise blood pressure. A recent study has found that vaping made you 34 percent more likely to have a heart attack when compared to non-vapers.