India is plagued by a heavy burden of heart disease and by 2010. India will carry the 60 % of the heart disease burden, nearly four times more than its share of the global population.
In addition, higher incidence of the types of heart disease resulting in serious illness and mortality and the fact is that these conditions strike at an earlier age.
Death rates are especially high among the country’s poorest residents, unable to get to the hospital quickly in an emergency or to afford routine treatments and surgery.
Ischaemic heart disease, mainly heart attacks and coronary artery disease, is the leading cause of mortality in the world, accounting for 7.1 million deaths in 2001.More than 80% of these were in developing countries.
South Asia has the highest level of acute coronary syndromes in the world, but little is known about treatment and health outcomes.
A team of researchers led by Denis Xavier of St.John’s National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore gathered data on nearly 21,000 coronary patients admitted to 89 hospitals in 50 cities across the country. They found that of 20,468 patients given a definite diagnosis, 60 percent showed evidence of a heart attack, compared with 40 % in developing countries.
With an average age of 60, these Indian patients were also younger by three to six years than their counterparts in richer nations.
The risk factors are: i) tobacco use, ii)high levels of lipids in the blood due to diets rich in saturated fat, iii)hypertension are the same elsewhere,
But the gap between India and developed nations have more specific causes, the study found.
The time needed for patients suffering an acute heart problem to get medical help.On average, it took 300 minutes to reach a hospital in India, twice as long as rich in nations. Few patients used an ambulance to reach the hospital. Most used public or private transport, due to financial constraints.
Poverty also prevented most patients in India- where 75 % percent of health care expenses are paid out of pocket, from getting routine treatments in hospitals, much less preventive surgery.
The above findings provides a comprehensive view of the epidemic of acute coronary syndrome in India and helps to identify opportunities for improvement in care. As Indian Economy grows there is a possibility to further increase in cardio-vascular disease before one see a decline similar to that being witnessed in developed countries, according to Cardiologist Kim Eagle in a commentary,published in The Lancet.