Cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty has urged Indians to take preventive heart screening seriously, warning that feeling fit is not the same as being medically fit. The Narayana Health founder said men between 35 and 40 should consider routine heart checks, including a heart CT scan, while those with diabetes or a family history of heart disease should get screened even earlier.
Asked why young Indians are increasingly dying of heart attacks, Dr Shetty said nearly half of patients with coronary artery blockages do not show symptoms. "50% of the patients with the blockage in the coronary arteries have no symptoms, nearly 50%. They develop heart attack and they have no previous chest pain, especially diabetes," he said, adding that diabetics often have "very little sensation in the heart."
Dr Shetty also cautioned that feeling fit is not the same as being medically fit. Referring to people collapsing during exercise, marathons or treadmill workouts, he said, "You have seen so many people just dropping down dead on a treadmill or running marathon or a day to day activity. If they went for a basic check like a blood test, an ECG, and a cardiac CT scan, that's all, none of those people would have had a heart attack."
Shetty believes that the problem of healthy people the suddenly dropping down dead could have been eliminated completely if only people went for a health checkup. "Our biggest problem is people refuse to see the doctors unless they have pain...", he said.
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On when screening should begin, Dr Shetty said every Indian should get a blood test at 17. Shetty said, "Every Indian, at the age of 17 must get the blood test done. This is the guideline now issued by the Cardiology Society of India because if the cholesterol level is high, they can manipulate the diet and all the men at the age of 35 to 40 should undergo a routine test along with CT scan of the heart."
"Anyone with the family history of heart disease must go for the checkup at the age of 30 itself, not wait for long time. All the diabetics should go for the checkup even earlier than 30 years. It is important that everyone should know their numbers."
"If the CT scan is normal, for the next seven years or ten years you don't need to bother...," concluded Shetty.
What Is Heart CT Scan
A heart CT scan is a non-invasive imaging test that uses computed tomography to take detailed pictures of the heart and its blood vessels. In preventive screening, doctors often refer to a coronary artery calcium scan, also called a CAC test or calcium score test.
This scan looks for calcium deposits in the coronary arteries — the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle. Calcium deposits are a marker of plaque build-up, which can increase the risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke.
The result is given as a calcium score. A score of zero generally suggests no detectable calcified plaque and a lower short-term risk, while higher scores point to greater plaque burden and higher future risk.
The American Heart Association says a CAC test can help doctors decide whether preventive treatment, such as cholesterol-lowering statins, may be useful when a person's heart disease risk is unclear.
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