Makes You Vulnerable To Heart Attacks, If It’s High!
Whether you are in a sedentary desk job or just started on highly intense exercise or gymming or marathons, do get regular heart health evaluations, say docs.
MUMBAI, Mar 30 (The CONNECT) – More than 85% of people in Mumbai have higher-than-normal levels of homocysteine in their bloodstream, making them vulnerable to heart diseases, such as blood clots, heart attack and stroke, according a study by digital health platform Tata1mg.
The data recently published by Tata 1mg Labs from about 4,609 homocysteine tests conducted across its Mumbai testing facilities in the last two years, shows that women fared much better than males in the test. While 62.93% of men were found with escalated levels of homocysteine, this figure was much lower for women at 36.84%
The below-25-year age group had the lowest incidence at 3.05% but rapidly climbed to the highest in the age bracket of 25-40 years at 30.48%. This was followed by age groups of 40–60 years (about 44%), above 60 years (17.52%).
Dr Sameer Gupta, a US board certified Interventional Cardiologist and Head of Cardiology for the Metro Group of Hospitals explained that though a high level of homocysteine in the blood is a marker for increased risk, we do not have clear data that interventions to lower homocysteine will reduce the risk or heart disease.” If you have high homocysteine levels, your doctor may recommend taking vitamin B12, B6 or folate supplements. It is important to note that increasing your vitamin intake alone does not decrease the risk of heart disease, lifestyle corrections like smoking cessation, staying physically active, and managing your medical conditions hold crucial significance.
India accounts for about 60% of the global heart disease cases despite having less than 20% of the global population, according to public health estimates. Not just this, high rates of obesity and high blood pressure among younger people are putting them at risk for heart disease earlier in life – 50% of all heart attacks in Indian men occur under 50 years of age and 25% of all heart attacks in Indian men occur under 40 years of age. Indian women have high mortality rates from heart disease too.
Dr Sameer Gupta, a US board certified Interventional Cardiologist and Head of Cardiology for the Metro Group of Hospitals, said, “Hyperhomocysteinemia is considered an independent risk marker for atherosclerotic vascular disease and venous thromboembolism or blood clots. But it is important to interpret the numbers in correlation with the patient profile and other risk factors. Increased levels of homocysteine are often secondary to nutritional inadequacy of folic acid and vitamin B12. It can be corrected with either supplements or a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products.”
Unhealthy lifestyle practices, physical inactivity, obesity, and smoking are leading causes for young Indians falling prey to heart conditions. Coronary risks can be identified by a variety of risk markers – prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and high levels of cholesterol are commonly used cardiac risk markers. However, most people would not be aware about another independent risk factor for heart disease, high homocysteine levels in the blood.
Dr Prashant Nag, Clinical Head, Tata 1mg Labs, excplained “A homocysteine test may be ordered when your doctor suspects that you may have a vitamin B12 and/or folate deficiency. It can also be ordered as part of assessing the risk of heart disease, or after a heart attack or stroke to help guide treatment. This test can be particularly useful for someone with a family history of coronary artery disease.” He adds, “While most labs consider normal homocysteine levels in the blood between 4 and 15 micromoles/liter (µmol/L), any value above 15 is reported high. Excessive homocysteine levels, generally a level above 50 µmol/L, may damage the lining of your arteries (blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood and nutrients throughout your body). It can also cause blood clots or artery blockages. Any clots or damage in arteries significantly increase the risk of heart attack.”
It goes without saying that regular screening for risk factors and early detection of heart conditions is crucial to providing timely treatment and improving health outcomes. It would be prudent for every young adult not to relate heart disease with aging and be cognizant. Whether you are in a sedentary desk job or just started on highly intense exercise or gymming or marathons, do get regular heart health evaluations.
| Total number of tests conducted in Mumbai | 4609 |
| Total incidence (high / low / normal) | high – 4036 low – 0 normal – 573 |
| Incidence below 25 | high – 123 low – 0 normal – 29 |
| Incidence 25-40 | high – 1230 low – 0 normal – 183 |
| Incidence 40-60 | high – 1776 low – 0 normal – 231 |
| Incidence 60+ | high – 907 low – 0 normal – 130 |
| Incidence in terms of males | high – 2540 low – 0 normal – 139 |
| Incidence in terms of females | high – 1487 low – 0 normal – 434 |
