200 per cent increase in queries on heart attacks in last three months: Practo Insights

Hyderabad, September 28, 2022: Heart disease is the number one cause of mortality and a silent epidemic among Indians, according to the Indian Heart Association. And public health estimates indicate that India accounts for approximately 60% of the world’s heart disease burden, despite having less than 20% of the world’s population.  So, as we commemorate World Heart Day, Practo, India’s leading integrated healthcare company conducted a deep dive into India’s heart health trends and witnessed a 200% increase in queries related to heart attacks in the last three months.
 

Reports of the demise of many well-known personalities due to heart-related issues, in the last two years, have impacted the awareness around heart health. It has spiked caution, especially among the urban populations living in metro cities. This is reflected in Practo’s Insights wherein Tier 1 cities including Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune, received 75% of the queries on heart attacks, while 25% came from tier 2 cities.
 

In addition to the queries on heart attacks, queries on hypertension have witnessed a significant increase of 60% in the last three months. While 92% of these queries came from tier 1 cities, only 7% of them originated from tier 2 cities. This could be due to the lack of awareness around heart health in the smaller towns and villages. Apart from that there was also a 36% increase in queries on peripheral arterial disease.
 

As more people seek medical intervention concerning heart health, here are some other insights that stood out in our study (YoY comparison of the last three months):
•    Cardiology has become one of the top 5 emerging specialties on our platform
•    56% of the consultations came from the age group of 30-39 years
•    From these, 75% came from men and 25% came from women
•    And 8% of patients who consulted with cardiologists on Practo were likely infected by Covid-19 in the past
This only goes to show how heart health is not necessarily related to age and has become a lifestyle-related issue with Covid-19 being one of its trigger points.
 

Commenting on this, Dr Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Strategy Officer, Practo said, “Heart health-related issues have become more prevalent in the last few years, and the rise in the queries also indicates the increased awareness. With the pandemic, we have witnessed a wide acceptance of teleconsultations for immediate medical assistance, as patients are taking ownership of their health. We at Practo are committed to providing uninterrupted access to cardiovascular care across India as patients are now taking ownership of their health. In fact, we have onboarded 100+ cardiologists on our platform in the last year alone, to enable patients to proactively manage their heart health.”
 
 
Dr Manoj Bansal MD, DM (Cardiology), Interventional Cardiologist in Indore and consults on Practo said, “In the last few months, we have seen a heightened awareness in young adults regarding the dangers and early signs of heart disease. Men as young as 24-25 years of age have approached us with heart-related queries and symptoms. Many of them are new hypertensives and are dealing with a lot of anxiety after a diagnosis.

To reduce the incidences of heart attacks, regular physical activity including Yoga and Pranayam should be made a part of our everyday lifestyle. Healthy eating habits should be inculcated right from school days. Mid-day meals in schools across the nation can play a huge part in improving our nation's heart health and should be designed to ensure we have a hale and heart-healthy next generation."