'Not Just Hassan': Area MP Shreyas Patel To News18 On Spike In Heart Attack Deaths Of Youths
It's not just Hassan, but several districts in Karnataka and across India are seeing a rise in young people dying of heart attacks, said Hassan MP Shreyas Patel in an exclusive interview with News18.
Asked why Hassan is in the spotlight, he said it's because every cardiac-related death is being tracked, documented, and responded to seriously. 'We are keeping a close watch on heart attack cases, especially among the 18-40 age group, which is why the numbers look high. It's not only happening here, but we are logging every heart-related issue or death and monitoring it closely," he said.
The spike in heart attack-related deaths in Hassan prompted the Siddaramaiah government, the local district administration, and the health department under minister Dinesh Gundu Rao to launch a probe into the matter. Karnataka health commissioner Randeep D also sought a report on the Hassan cardiac deaths, calling them concerning.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday that the government would identify and resolve the underlying problem, adding that directions have been given to the health department to form a committee.
According to MP Patel, Hassan's medical institutions immediately launched a coordinated response. 'Over the past month, we've been tracking every case. On June 17, we had a detailed meeting with the district health officer, the director of HIMS, cardiologists from HIMS and private hospitals. We took stock of the situation and began taking action immediately," said the MP.
Training has also been prioritised. 'We've directed all assistant medical officers that any patient suspected of having a heart attack must be treated without delay. Not just doctors—every healthcare worker, including staff nurses and support staff, must know what to do as immediate first aid. We've already begun batch-wise training for all medical staff since June 17," he confirmed.
The district has also begun implementing the STEMI system—a real-time video consultation setup operated directly by a team of cardiologists from Jayadeva Hospital. Patel said the system has already been installed in three to four hospitals and that they have requested the health minister to extend it to all CHCs. 'He has agreed in principle, and we hope to get approval soon," the MP said.
But beyond infrastructure, he insisted that awareness is key. 'People should cooperate with us. They should regularly undergo checkups—echocardiograms, TMT, and ECG. All of these are free and available at Hassan District Hospital. The public must take advantage of this."
When asked why heart attack cases are being reported so extensively from Hassan alone, Patel was quick to clarify: 'No, it's not just Hassan. We are simply maintaining daily accounts—how many deaths have occurred due to heart attacks and how many people have been admitted. Those figures are being put out in the media. That's why it looks like it's concentrated here. But this is an issue for all districts. What's different is how seriously we've taken it."
He said the focus now is on preventing deaths among young people. 'The main aim is to protect lives in the 18 to 35 age group. We don't want any more young lives lost to sudden cardiac issues," he said.
Patel confirmed that cases in Hassan are being clearly marked as heart attacks, not just broadly listed under 'unnatural deaths", which is the usual classification in many other districts. 'We've been observing the trend carefully for a month. Every heart-related admission or death is recorded. That's the data we've provided to the media," he said.
He added that health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has directed the director of the Jayadeva Institute to submit a detailed report on the Hassan deaths within ten days. 'Once that report is in, we will act based on science and evidence, not panic. But this issue is real, and we're treating it with the urgency it demands," Patel said.
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