Young people who have a heart attack are mostly likely to die suddenly, before even they reach the hospital, doctors warned as they marked the World Hypertension Day.
Calling on more people to undergo regular check ups, Dr. Ahmad Gabroun, a specialist cardiologist at the Canadian Hospital, he said that more young people get heart attacks today and they are unlike older patients whose blood capillary system has built "side-roads" over a period of time. "When younger people get a heart attack, blood and oxygen supply is cut off immediately,” he informed.
The heart doctor said that though there are a large number of people undergoing angioplasty and bypass surgery in the UAE, "we are just seeing a fifth of the reality, because many are dying before they get to see the doctor.”
Another top heart specialist in Dubai, Dr. Girishchandra Varma, Specialist Cardiologist at Belhoul Specialist Hospital, called hypertension a 'silent killer'.
"By the time you go to the GP to check out why you are getting headaches, the dizziness, the blurring of vision, it is too late," he said.
He said the blood pressure should ideally be 120/80, but it can go up a bit as you age. If there is a family history of heart attacks and strokes, you should be even more careful, Dr Varma said.
Work stress, bad dietary habits and smoking have made hypertension endemic, and according to Dr.Varma, Asians are more susceptible to heart attacks than the Western people because of certain cultural aspects as well as the food habits.
"Asian live for their children and grandchildren and put themselves under mor e pressure to secure wealth for their offsprings," he added.