Mumbai: A fit body need not translate into a fit heart.
Cardiologists in the city are of the opinion that fitness freaks should get their heart and health checked before hitting the gym to avoid consequences which could leave a bad impact on their loved ones. In 2022, several male celebrities passed away after suffering from heart attacks. The rising spate of heart attacks among male celebrities has triggered discussions about increasing stress, peer pressure, instances of depression and other mental health issues.
There have been several instances of popular celebrities succumbing to heart attack in the last two years. On August 10, popular comedian Raju Srivastava was hospitalized after he collapsed while working out at a gym. The 58-year-old who was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) died after 43 days.
There have been others as well. Krishna Kumar Kunnath aka KK (53), Sidharth Shukla (40), Puneeth Rajkumar (46), Raj Kaushal (50), Rajeev Kapoor (58), Vivek (59), Amit Mistry (47) and Siddhaanth Vir Surryavanshi (47) are some popular actors who died after suffering a heart attack in the last two years.
Dr Ajit Menon, Consultant, Cardiac Sciences, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital said that any person who starts exercising, especially beyond the age of 40, should definitely undergo a cardiac check-up before he starts hitting the gym. The reason being many youngsters are afflicted with cardiac disease at a much younger age; and if these people push themselves hard either on the treadmill or lift very heavy weights, they stand the risk of a sudden heart attack.
“In fact, abroad, and even in India for that matter, anyone who enters a competitive sport is advised to undergo a complete check-up including a proper stress test and pulmonary function test before he is allowed to pursue the sport. So, in my opinion, anyone above the age of 35 or 40 who wishes to get into physical work-outs or wants to get on the treadmill, or even dreams of running a marathon, I feel it is advisable to to get a basal cardiac evaluation done to make sure we are not dealing with subclinical which can suddenly surface once they put a lot of stress on their heart,” he said.
Common causes
Dr Rajesh Rajani, Consultant Coronary Interventionist, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & MRC said it is very common to come across instances of young people having heart attacks in recent times, very much unlike those at 50 to 60 years of age. The common causes are smoking, recreational drugs, binge alcohol drinking, taking extra supplements, steroids, tremendous stress, and a history of heart attack at a young age (50-60 years) in the immediate family. Hence, whenever one is enrolling in the gym for workouts, body sculpting, or endurance training, it is mandatory to get blood tests namely blood sugar, lipid profile, thyroid stimulating hormone.
“Besides the blood profile, it is important get a stress test done and it should be negative for reversible ischaemia. If an individual has diabetes mellitus at a young age or a strong family history of heart attacks it would be worth getting a CT coronary angiography done. Stress is a major killer in young age groups because of desires and demands of the present generation. Before joining the gym it is imperative for all blood investigations as outlined and stress test, CT coronary angiography to be done which would suffice to get a go-ahead in fitness from the cardiologist,” he said.
There are several reasons due to which people suffer cardiac arrest or heart attack while working out in the gym, according to a gym trainer. It will only be unfair to put the blame on the gym or intake of proteins by the fitness enthusiasts. In most cases, a person has several comorbidities which are neglected by them and they continue with heavy workout which impacts their body and heart. Besides, unhealthy lifestyle, no proper guidance, fast results in gaining muscles are also major contributors in speeding up a heart attack or a cardiac arrest.
“People above 30 years of age who want to hit the gym, need a proper health check-up from their physician or cardiologist to avoid any unfortunate incident in the gym. Most of the time people suffering from hypertension, diabetes and also living an unhealthy lifestyle, are more susceptible to getting a heart attack as they already have stress. Also, at times people want to get fit in three-months due to which they do heavy workout without any guidance which impacts their body and sustain injuries,” he said.
