Silent Heart Attack Risk: 80% of patients were 'low-risk,' yet still suffered heart attacks! Learn why foreign medical formulas are failing.

Cholesterol and Heart Disease: A recent Indian study has shown that many patients previously considered low-risk are also suffering heart attacks. Let's explain why.

 

 

Why is heart attack occurring without warning?

Why Heart Attacks Are Rising In Indians : The perception that heart attacks always occur only in those who already have clear warning signs seems to be changing. A recent Indian study has shown that many patients who were previously considered low-risk are also suffering from heart attacks. The study, led by Dr. Mohit Dayal Gupta at GB Pant Hospital in Delhi, analyzed data from over 5,000 patients. It found that about 80 percent of those who experienced a heart attack for the first time were not previously classified as high-risk.

Risk factors not identified in India.

Global risk calculators are commonly used by doctors to help determine who needs treatment or medication. However, this study found that these models are not accurately identifying the risk of Indian patients. Depending on the model, only 11% to 20% of patients were identified as high-risk, yet all of them later developed heart attacks.

What do experts say?

According to Dr. Gupta, the pattern of Indian patients differs from that of Western countries. Heart disease typically occurs at an older age there, whereas in India it is being seen at a younger age. The study found the average age of patients to be only 54 years, indicating that heart disease is now affecting people at a much earlier age. The research also revealed that Indians have a distinct South Asian phenotype. This includes a risk of diabetes and insulin resistance despite being of normal weight. Furthermore, cholesterol patterns are also different: low HDL and high triglycerides, while LDL is not always high.

These things also increase the risk.

Many people have hidden fat around the abdomen, which is not captured by BMI. Smoking, mental stress, and other traditional risk factors also contribute to increased risk. The problem is that most global models overestimate age and LDL, leading to an underestimation of the risk for young Indians. Many patients fall into the "intermediate risk" category, where treatment is often postponed.

Furthermore, these models do not incorporate important factors such as insulin resistance, lipoprotein(a), ApoB, central obesity, and chronic kidney disease. This may lead to the true risk remaining undetected, and treatment beginning only when the condition has already become severe. Following this study, experts have emphasized the need to develop a unique risk calculator for India.