Chennai: A 34-year-old working professional complained of uneasiness and chest pain and when his colleagues rushed him to a nearby city hospital, the doctor said he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Though the professional did not have any family history of heart attacks, the doctor found that he was overstressed. On Thursday, a cardiologist died of cardiac arrest in the city. With the increasing number of heart diseases both in men and women, city doctors say regular screening is important to prevent heart trouble. February is observed as heart disease awareness month.
“Heart problem can happen anytime. Those who have family history of heart attack have a risk of premature heart disease,” says Dr Joy M. Thomas, chief cardiologist at Global Health City. Women are as prone to heart disease as men. “Even 38 or 40 year- old women suffer due to heart ailments. Women are more stressed out than men as they work as well as take care of family and children at home. People, especially youngsters who are now working in a stressful atmosphere should find avenues to de-stress,” added Dr. Thomas.
Heart beats about one lakh times every day, which comes to 35 million times every year. Dr Jacob Jamesraj, senior heart surgeon, Madras Medical Mission says people take heart often for granted. “Heart disease doesn’t happen overnight. It develops over the years and is influenced by how well you take care of your body every day. There’s cardiac stress analysis also called TMT (treadmill test) that predict coronary disease. A person suffering from chest pain can take up the TMT test to rule out heart problem,” says Dr Jamesraj.