By IANS,
New Delhi: Around 80 percent of cardiac deaths in the country can be prevented if people are made aware about heart diseases, Medanta Heart Institute said Saturday.
“Correct information and awareness amongst people can prevent 80 percent cardiac deaths as 60 percent population in India has wrong or incomplete information about heart diseases,” said Rajneesh Kapoor, director of division of interventional cardilogy at the institute.
According to Kapoor, people tend to link chest pains with heart attacks whereas the discomfort may spread to neck, left arm or even throat.
“Some people think that only overweight people get heart attacks, which is not true. Heart attacks are not related to weight, it’s related to cholesterol level,” added Kapoor. “Misconceptions can lead to deaths.”
As per Medanta, cardiovascular diseases cause 29 percent of all deaths globally each year, making it the world’s number one killer.
Every year, 17.1 million lives are claimed by cardiovascular diseases, with 82 per cent of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries like India.
However, a healthy diet, not smoking and being physically active are key to building a healthy heart, advised Kapoor.