07-07-2025
Why Young Hearts Are Failing: Cardiologist Warns It's Not Cholesterol, It's What You're Not Seeing
New Delhi: He sees it every day. People who never thought they were at risk. People in their 30s, sometimes younger. Fit. Active. Still falling to heart attacks.
Dr. Sanjay Bhojraj has spent years inside operating rooms and ICUs. He is an interventional cardiologist. He does not go by textbook rules. He watches what shows up in real lives. On June 25, he shared something that is turning heads. Something that does not sit in most annual check-ups.
Cholesterol is not the whole story, he says. That number you chase after each year – LDL levels – that is not where the danger hides. It is what happens to those LDL particles that causes the damage. They do not kill the heart on their own. Something else triggers the collapse.
What's Breaking the Heart, Really
LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein. Most people know it as 'bad cholesterol'. It clogs the arteries. Builds the plaque. Cuts off blood flow. But that is the end of the process.
What Dr Bhojraj points to is the start.
These LDL particles float through the bloodstream. They get hit. Damaged. That damage is not random. It is sparked by stressors – oxidation, inflammation and lifestyle choices that trigger molecular alarms in the body. The body does not stay silent. It reacts.
He calls it Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMP). Once the LDL gets injured, it no longer behaves normally. It alerts the immune system. That leads to inflammation inside the arteries. Silent. Slow. And deadly.
You do not feel it. Not until it is too late.
Heart Disease in Numbers That Can't Be Ignored
Every 33 seconds, someone dies from cardiovascular disease. That is the US data. The CDC logged 702,880 deaths from heart disease in 2022 alone. It made up one out of every five deaths in the country.
Globally, the World Health Organisation reports 17.9 million deaths per year due to CVDs. That number is not shrinking. It is rising. Young adults are no longer immune. They are becoming the new high-risk group.
The Tests That Hide the Truth – and What You Should Actually Check
A routine check-up is not enough. That is the warning coming from experts like Dr Vashisth. He is a senior cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon at HCG Hospitals, Bhavnagar. He sees the other side of the chart. The missed signs. The clean ECGs that came back normal until the patient did not.
An ECG will not always catch the threat. It shows rhythms. But it does not reveal arterial inflammation or early damage. That needs more.
He lists what every adult should include in an annual screening – a full lipid profile, fasting blood sugar or HbA1c, regular blood pressure checks and BMI and waist circumference. In some cases, an echocardiogram or stress test – especially with a family history of heart problems or symptoms like breathlessness or chest discomfort.
These are not luxury tests. They are life-saving tools.
The Message Doctors Are Trying to Deliver
This is not fear-mongering. It is a warning built on real patients, real emergencies and real regrets. The body often whispers long before it screams. Inflammation, damage and immune reactions – they show up silently. You will not always feel them. But they are there.
Dr Bhojraj's message is simple – stop chasing just numbers and start understanding what lies underneath them.
The LDL is part of the puzzle. But it is not the trigger. The trigger is damage. And damage can be reversed. But only if you see it early.
Note to readers: This article shares insights from medical experts but should not replace professional diagnosis. Always speak to your doctor if you have questions or symptoms.
