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CHENNAI: Online consultations for cardiology grew by 350% in the last six months, and more than a third of those queries were from people residing in non-metro cities, according to healthcare platform Practo.
Most of the queries were on “How Covid-19 affects heart patients?” and “What are symptoms one should look out for in case of heart attacks?”, says Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, chief healthcare strategy officer, Practo.
More often than not, says Dr Kuruvilla, the patients ignore early signs of cardiac distress like pain in the back or shoulders or tightness of chest accompanied by nausea, cold sweat, weakness or shortness of breath. Some of such cardiac signs may seem generic and be passed-off as trivial concerns. Yet, if ignored over a period of time, basic symptoms can result in fatal cardiac conditions. “This indicates a need for mass awareness amongst patients and clinicians,” he says.
Procrastination from the patients’ side has been majorly due to the perceived inconvenience in accessing healthcare at large and the fear of contracting the coronavirus – especially in the last six months, says Dr Kuruvilla.
During these pandemic times, it is important for patients with heart conditions to take extra care and follow all prescribed medications regularly, says Dr Rajpal Singh RL, director, cardiology, Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru.
“Strict adherence to a healthy diet, abstaining from excess alcohol intake, smoking cessation, regular exercise are pillars on which one can build a lower risk profile. The golden rule when it comes to heart diseases is that shorter the time in seeking help, the higher the chances of the heart muscle being saved.”
“People with previously undiagnosed heart disease may also be presenting with previously silent cardiac symptoms unmasked by the Covid infection,” says Dr N Ganesan senior consultant – cardiology, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai.
“In people with heart-vessel blockages, infection, fever, and inflammation can destabilize the heart vessels. In addition, there is a subset of people with Covid-19 — some of them previously healthy — who develop inflammation of the heart muscle due to the virus directly infecting the heart. This type of inflammation could lead to heart rhythm disturbances and cardiac muscle damage.”
Adds Dr R Sivakumar, senior consultant –cardiology, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai: “Covid-19 may spark cardiac trouble in multiple ways. It is an infectious pulmonary illness that causes stress on the heart in both healthy people and those with pre-existing heart disease. Second, people may experience heart damage that mimics heart attack injury even if their arteries do not have blockages that cause classic heart attacks. This can occur when the heart muscle is starved for oxygen, which in the case of Covid-19 may be triggered by a mismatch between oxygen supply and oxygen demand.”
According to the Indian Heart Association, heart disease is the number one cause of mortality and a silent epidemic among Indians claiming nearly three million lives every year. “Unfortunately, our country has the highest number of heart disease patients across the world and contributes to a massive six crore people being newly diagnosed every year. As the numbers are still on an exponential rise, various studies have claimed that people with pre-existing heart conditions have a 11.6% higher risk of mortality due to the Covid infection,” says Dr Kuruvilla.
The biggest reason for people losing their lives due to heart ailments in India is attributed to lack of awareness about the prevailing condition and the reluctance or delay in seeking adequate medical attention.
Most of the queries were on “How Covid-19 affects heart patients?” and “What are symptoms one should look out for in case of heart attacks?”, says Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, chief healthcare strategy officer, Practo.
More often than not, says Dr Kuruvilla, the patients ignore early signs of cardiac distress like pain in the back or shoulders or tightness of chest accompanied by nausea, cold sweat, weakness or shortness of breath. Some of such cardiac signs may seem generic and be passed-off as trivial concerns. Yet, if ignored over a period of time, basic symptoms can result in fatal cardiac conditions. “This indicates a need for mass awareness amongst patients and clinicians,” he says.
Procrastination from the patients’ side has been majorly due to the perceived inconvenience in accessing healthcare at large and the fear of contracting the coronavirus – especially in the last six months, says Dr Kuruvilla.
During these pandemic times, it is important for patients with heart conditions to take extra care and follow all prescribed medications regularly, says Dr Rajpal Singh RL, director, cardiology, Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru.
“Strict adherence to a healthy diet, abstaining from excess alcohol intake, smoking cessation, regular exercise are pillars on which one can build a lower risk profile. The golden rule when it comes to heart diseases is that shorter the time in seeking help, the higher the chances of the heart muscle being saved.”
“People with previously undiagnosed heart disease may also be presenting with previously silent cardiac symptoms unmasked by the Covid infection,” says Dr N Ganesan senior consultant – cardiology, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai.
“In people with heart-vessel blockages, infection, fever, and inflammation can destabilize the heart vessels. In addition, there is a subset of people with Covid-19 — some of them previously healthy — who develop inflammation of the heart muscle due to the virus directly infecting the heart. This type of inflammation could lead to heart rhythm disturbances and cardiac muscle damage.”
Adds Dr R Sivakumar, senior consultant –cardiology, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai: “Covid-19 may spark cardiac trouble in multiple ways. It is an infectious pulmonary illness that causes stress on the heart in both healthy people and those with pre-existing heart disease. Second, people may experience heart damage that mimics heart attack injury even if their arteries do not have blockages that cause classic heart attacks. This can occur when the heart muscle is starved for oxygen, which in the case of Covid-19 may be triggered by a mismatch between oxygen supply and oxygen demand.”
According to the Indian Heart Association, heart disease is the number one cause of mortality and a silent epidemic among Indians claiming nearly three million lives every year. “Unfortunately, our country has the highest number of heart disease patients across the world and contributes to a massive six crore people being newly diagnosed every year. As the numbers are still on an exponential rise, various studies have claimed that people with pre-existing heart conditions have a 11.6% higher risk of mortality due to the Covid infection,” says Dr Kuruvilla.
The biggest reason for people losing their lives due to heart ailments in India is attributed to lack of awareness about the prevailing condition and the reluctance or delay in seeking adequate medical attention.
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