Odisha Gets A Heart Attack: 2020-21 Records 329 Acute Cases A Day, 38 Deaths Every 24 Hrs

These numbers will certainly give one heart attack. Every day nearly 329 people in Odisha had suffered from acute heart diseases last year. And a whopping around 38 persons every 24 hours last year died due to heart diseases or cardiac stroke owing to high blood pressure.

According to the data available with the Odisha Health Department, in the year 2020-21, a high of 1.2 lakh heart patients had visited the OPD to consult cardiologists. In the pandemic hit year, the number of deaths due to heart diseases or hypertension in the State stood at over 13,877.

Second Wave Surge

When the State was badly hit by the Second Wave of the pandemic, the deaths due to heart diseases or hypertension had posted an eye-popping rise. The data with Odisha Health Mission shows a near doubling of cardiac-related deaths in Odisha.

Sample the following:

• In April-May 2020, the number of deaths due to heart-related ailments, including hypertension, in the age group of 18-plus years were at 1,774
• On the contrary, deaths caused by cardiac diseases, including high blood pressure, during the months of Apr-May 2021 had been counted at 3,278.
• Similarly, the tally of patients who consulted with cardiologists at the OPDs in Apr-May 2020 stood at 14,680.
• And the count during the peak of Second Wave (Apr-May 2021) had jumped to 17,206 in the State.

Assocham Report: A Reality Check

Only recently, a study by the country's leading trade body Assocham has detected the prevalence of hypertension in the State as highest in the country. High blood pressure or hypertension is the biggest risk factor for heart disease.

When the population of Odisha (4.635 cr) in 2020 had been only 3.3 percent of India's over 1.38 billion people, the proportion of adults (18-plus) having hypertension, and who visited OPDs last year, had been 4.5 percent of the country's total hypertension patients.

The above comparison shows how high is the prevalence of hypertension in Odisha vis-a-vis the nation.

District-Wise Heart Beats

In the past year 2020-21, Cuttack district with detection of over 54k acute heart disease cases topped the State. It was followed by Sambalpur (over 34,000), Khordha (around 14,700) and Balasore (over 2,300). Bargarh and Kendrapada are the two other districts where OPDs registered visits of over 1000 acute heart patients last year.

The trend is more or less the same during the second wave this year.

High Blood Pressure Chart

However, in the chart of hypertension prevalence, apart from the above-mentioned districts, a higher prevalence was recorded in clusters like Jagatsinghpur – Jajpur,  Puri – Nayagarh and Mayurbhanj.

Signs Of Ailing Hearts

As per WHO, watch out for the following signs

• Chest discomfort
• Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach
• Breath shortness
• Cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

Special Signs in Women: the symptoms mostly seen in women

• Breath shortness
• Nausea/vomiting
• Back or jaw or stomach pain

Know The Risk Factors

• High blood cholesterol
• Smoking (Asocham's recent report had found high tobacco use in Odisha)
• Cut your salt intake 

Eliminate The R-Factor

• High cholesterol in your body will show no symptoms.
• Take lipid profile test of blood to detect the presence of high cholesterol
• Measure the high-density lipoprotein or good cholesterol
• If the low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol is high then it is ominous.

Bad Cholesterol Boosters

• Taking a diet rich in saturated fatty acids or trans fat foods
• Lack of physical activity
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• If age crosses 60 -years (liver's activity slows down with an increase in age)