Lack Of Healthy Diet, Physical Activities Causing Heart Ailments Among Kids: Doctors

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The death of a 17-year-old boy at the morning prayers in a school in Chhatarpur on Tuesday because of a massive cardiac arrest has changed the view of many that children are not prone to heart-related issues.

Nevertheless, it is not so these days, for many children are prone to heart ailments, because of unhealthy lifestyle and improper diet, said doctors.

In Chattarpur, a 17-year-old school boy died after a massive cardiac arrest. The incident rattled the boy’s family members as well as the medical fraternity in the district. They said it was a rare case of heart failure.

That was not an isolated incident, however. There are many causes of heart failure among teens, such as low immunity, obesity, lack of physical activities, unhealthy lifestyle and heredity.

According to a heart specialist in Chhatarpur district Dr Arvind Singh, there are many reasons for it. Unhealthy lifestyle, obesity and heredity are the main reasons for such cases, he said.

As far as heart ailments go, age does not matter these days, he said.

Similarly, Dr Ramesh Bhargava, a child specialist in Bhopal, said, “The reasons for heart attack at young age are low physical activities among the children, which result in obesity.

Apart from that, lack of proper diet, such as fruits, green vegetables, vitamins, fats and proteins in the right proportion cause heart ailments among them.”

The children are attracted to junk food, which is the root of all the diseases, Dr Bhargava said, adding that immunity also plays a critical role in protecting a child from many diseases, and boosting one's immunity should start from pre and post-natal care of pregnant women.

Also, heredity is responsible for ailments at a young age, he said.

“If we talk about any city, we find two/three people aged between 20 and 22 years are admitted to hospitals because of mal functioning of heart,” he said.