Cardiac health has become an increasing cause of concern in India in the past two decades. Data from leading research journals like The Lancet suggest that the prevalence of heart disease and stroke has increased by over 50 per cent from 1990 to 2016 in India.  

Another study published in The Lancet highlights that cardiac ailments killed more Indians in 2016 (28 per cent) than any other non-communicable disease. 

“The contribution of these diseases to total deaths and disease burden in the country has almost doubled in the past 25 years”, remarks Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Health Strategy Officer, Practo.  

Aparna Dhar, Lead Medical Geneticist and Genetic Counsellor at CORE Diagnostics on the increasing number of cardiovascular diseases among young people comments, “While the increasing number of millennials are thriving to compete with one another and are making the best professional choices, the same can’t be said when it comes to their heart health.”  

“Through various cardiac tests conducted at CORE Diagnostics, we have observed that growing number of young individuals aged between 20 to 40 are getting diagnosed with issues such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, and even heart attack”, Dhar informs.  

According to Practo’s report, a 54 per cent increase in the number of appointments booked for cardiologists was witnessed compared to last year. Further, Mumbai saw a staggering annual increase of 181 per cent followed by Delhi and Bangalore. 

“Not just restricting themselves to visiting the doctors, a lot of consumers used Practo’s eConsult service to clear their doubts related to heart problems. 22 per cent for cardiology related queries on our online consultation service is a testament to this”, expounds Kuruvilla.  

Although, these numbers are disturbing, with rising innovation in technology might help in reducing the cardiovascular diseases around the world. On the increasing role of technology in healthcare, Kuruvilla believes that advancements and innovation in technology and digitisation are not only aiding treatment paths but are also supporting effective diagnostics and disease management. 

Heart diseases once diagnosed, require holistic treatment including immediate medical treatment, lifestyle modification, consistent and long-term monitoring and in most cases a lifetime of oral medication. “When it comes to your heart health, it is important to be alert and undergo periodic tests”,  They are categorised as a chronic medical condition that needs meticulous management and digitisation is making every step of this process convenient and simple for the patient and the doctor.  

Informing on how technology is helping in almost every sphere of medical aid, Kuruvilla highlights that for the patients, there are apps like Practo which help with clinical appointments, to diagnostics, and medicine delivery. Even the doctors use digital aids to monitor a patient’s progress effectively which helps in comfortable recovery of cardiovascular patients. 

Further, Dhar blames today’s busy and fast-paced lifestyle which leads adults to not follow some key healthy habits such as a balanced diet, regular exercising and avoiding smoking which directly impacts their heart. 

Here the role of health mobile applications comes into play. These apps are helping individuals to live a healthier lifestyle. From tracking the intake of calories to pacing out with their workout plan at their own comfort, these apps are proving to be revolutionary.  

Some of the fitness devices closely monitor the heartbeat and blood pressure of users. In case of any fluctuation that can prove to be lethal, these apps send an alarming notification to the user. In the recent past, many cases have been noticed where these devices have prevented its users from anything catastrophic to happen. The technology has been even evolved so much that it detects emergency cases by itself and calls for medical aid in no time, thereby saving the lives of its users.  

There is no doubt that humans are getting more prone to chronic disorders. With the power to even change the lifestyle of a user, the technology might prove revolutionary in lowering the risk of non-communicable diseases, especially heart-related diseases.