Heart attacks among youngsters on the rise
The Hindu
Doctors say high-intensity exercise is one of the precipitating factors in general
The death of Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar has again brought into focus the increasing incidence of heart attacks among the young. Doctors, who said the trend is on the rise in the last few years, pointed out that over 30% of such “unfortunate” victims do not have any conventional risk factors or family history.
With several cases of people collapsing during a workout or after returning from the gym being reported, doctors said high-intensity exercise is a precipitating factor in such cases.
Puneeth too complained of chest pain after his routine workout in the morning and was taken to their family doctor where an ECG was done. He was then referred to Vikram Hospitals. Doctors at Vikram Hospitals said the actor was non-responsive and was in cardiac asystole when he was brought there. Also referred to as cardiac flatline, asystole is the state of total cessation of electrical activity from the heart, which means no tissue contraction from the heart muscle and therefore no blood flow to the rest of the body.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.