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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
Jayadeva's Premature Coronary Artery Disease registry shows over 24% of patients aged below 40 are drivers
The vulnerability of autorickshaw and cab drivers to cardiovascular diseases is not a new trend observed in the sudden heart attack deaths sample in Hassan district, say doctors. Director of State-run Sri Jaydeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, K.S. Ravindranath, who headed the expert committee that investigated the perceived surge in sudden heart attack deaths in Hassan district, said it was not surprising to find six (25%) of the 24 deceased to be auto and cab drivers in the sample and it had been flagged by earlier studies too. He pointed out that data from the Premature Coronary Artery Disease (PCAD) registry maintained at Jayadeva since 2017 shows that 24.25% (975) of 4,020 young heart attack patients (aged below 40) screened so far are drivers with multiple risk factors. While 72.9% of these 975 drivers are smokers, 7.10% have diabetes, 8.3% have hypertension, 10.5% have obesity and 13.7% have a family history of cardiovascular diseases, data shows. Dr. Ravindranath, who pointed out that autorickshaw and cab drivers are emerging as a highly vulnerable group for cardiovascular diseases, attributed the alarming trend to a combination of occupational stress and lifestyle risk factors. 'While prolonged exposure to air and noise pollution and driving through traffic gridlocks is itself stressful, long working hours and prolonged sitting, irregular food habits, often reliant on roadside, processed foods, erratic sleeping pattern and high rates of smoking and alcohol use are adding to the problem,' Dr. Ravindranath told The Hindu on Friday. Among bus drivers He said similar trends were observed among drivers at Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), who are undergoing screening at the institute in batches since 2022. An analysis of 7,635 employees, majority of whom are drivers aged 45-60 years, evaluated at the institute since August 10, 2022, has revealed that over 40% of them were vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases. Besides, around 4% of them had an established heart disease, the doctor said. 'Our data shows that 27% of the drivers screened had diabetes, 25% hypertension, 62% obesity and around 1% had a family history. While 22% were smokers, 25% consumed alcohol,' he said. Similarly, around 10,000 KSRTC employees have been screened at the institute in the last three years. 'Of these, about 50% are drivers, and the percentage of risk factors is almost the same as BMTC drivers. However, smoking habits are comparatively less common among KSRTC drivers compared to BMTC drivers, as the former drive long-distance trips,' Dr. Ravindranath said. High risk Former Jayadeva director and Bengaluru Rural MP C.N. Manjunath, during whose tenure BMTC had signed an agreement with the cardiac institute for screening its employees, said that with nearly 40% of them having diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, the risk of them developing cardiovascular diseases in the future is high. 'Mandatory periodic and annual health checks are essential for these employees to ensure early intervention. Proper and early risk factor and lifestyle management is the key to prevent cardiovascular problems,' the doctor said. 'Most of the employees had not gotten themselves tested before and were surprised by the diagnosis of diabetes and high blood pressure. Due to the nature of their work, their stress levels are high. They have no time to exercise, and their eating habits are erratic due to continuous driving, overwork, and night duties. Most of all, their exposure to pollution throughout their work (both from the engine and atmosphere) is very risky,' he explained. Need for screening Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said health screenings for auto and cab drivers will be taken up. 'We will discuss this alarming trend with the drivers' association and start screening them for cardiovascular diseases,' he said.
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
No direct correlation between cardiovascular events and COVID-19 exposure and vaccination: Study
A pilot observational study by the State-run Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research (SJICSR) has not found any association between premature cardiovascular disease and a prior history of COVID-19 infection, or COVID vaccination. Amid mounting public anxiety over the rising trend of sudden cardiovascular events (heart attack, sudden cardiac death) post-COVID-19 pandemic, the Karnataka government had in February this year set up an expert committee headed by Jayadeva Director K. S. Ravindranath to evaluate the temporal and potential causal links with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or COVID-19 vaccination. The cross-sectional study involving 251 patients, including 32 females, aged below 45 years, was aimed at presenting evidence-based insights, identifying risk factors, and proposing recommendations for surveillance and prevention. The committee submitted its report to Harsh Gupta, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare on July 4. Under-recognised mechanisms 'Although conventional risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and smoking, remain prevalent in a majority of the 251 patients, a significant minority of patients presented with none of these, suggesting the possible involvement of novel or under-recognized mechanisms,' Dr Ravindranath told The Hindu. According to the report, while 87 of the patients were diabetic, 102 were hypertensive, 35 were having cholesterol disorder, 40 had family history of heart diseases, 111 were smokers, and 77 patients did not have any of the conventional risk factors. As many as 19 out of 251 patients had a history of previous COVID-19 infection. Of the 19, seven each had diabetes and hypertension, two had a family history, eight had no risk factors. Almost all (249) of the 251 patients had been vaccinated against COVID. While 53 received only one dose, 180 received two doses, and 17 received all three doses of a vaccine. As many as 144 had been vaccinated with Covishield, 64 with Covaxin, and 52 were unaware of which vaccine they had received. Comparative data To compare the risk factor profile of similar premature coronary artery disease patients prior to the pandemic, the team used data from the institute's Premature Coronary Artery Disease (PCAD) among the young registry maintained at the institute between April 1, 2019 and May 31, 2019. As the PCAD registry was maintained for patients aged under 40 years, a subset of patients from the present study aged below 40 years were grouped and compared with the 2019 age and sex-matched population. Analysing all national and international peer reviewed scientific literature, journal articles, clinical studies and clinical registries to study the possible association of sudden cardiovascular events with past history of COVID-19 infection and vaccination, the Jayadeva committee noted that most studies and reports published globally have also not found any causal association between COVID vaccination and sudden cardiovascular events. 'On the contrary, COVID vaccination has been shown to be protective against cardiac events in the long term,' the report stated. No single cause 'Our study has not found any single cause behind the observed rise in sudden cardiac deaths. Rather, it appears to be a multi-factorial issue, with behavioural, genetic, and environmental risks. While in the immediate post-COVID phase, there is an increase in the incidence of sudden cardiovascular events due to a pro-inflammatory state, the same cannot be held to be true in the long term (>1 year). It has been three years since the end of the pandemic,' Dr Ravindranath said. He said current data does not support the belief that 'long COVID' is responsible for the rise in sudden cardiovascular events among the young. 'Rather, a rise in the prevalence of the common risk factors that lead to cardiovascular disease (hypertension, diabetes, smoking , dyslipidemia) is the best explanation for the rise in sudden cardiovascular events. In light of these findings, a multi-faceted public health strategy is essential,' he asserted. Recommendations Pointing out that the strategy should include establishing a robust surveillance system for sudden cardiac deaths, particularly among young adults, the Jayadeva director said implementing autopsy-based registries and integrating early cardiovascular screening at the school level is vital. 'Importantly, large-scale, prospective, multicentric studies are needed to better delineate the long-term cardiovascular effects of both COVID-19 infection and vaccination,' he explained. Recommendations
