Earlier, heart attacks were thought to be a disease that affected one in later years but not anymore. There has been a disturbing rise in the number of young people suffering from heart attacks. Especially in healthy young adults, this disease has been observed at a more alarming rate. In the last four years, there has been a 66 percent rise in the number of heart attacks in young people in America – with one in every five heart attack patients being under the age of 40. A report on Daily Mail has explored the connection of this trend with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reasons behind alarming rise of heart attacks in young adults

The report mentions that many factors are at play in increasing the risk of heart attacks in young and fit adults – drug use, obesity and sedentary lifestyle are some of the main reasons. However, considering the timing, Covid-19 is also suspected to be at play here.

The Covid-19 virus can cause widespread inflammation throughout the body, especially affecting the heart and causing blood clots. During the lockdown, people were bound to stay at home – this further triggered depression, anxiety and stress. These all can trigger heart attack risk.

Impact of covid:

The timing of surge in heart attacks is suspected to be directly related to the covid pandemic. The covid virus, once inside the body, can cause the heart to be inflamed – this condition is known as myocarditis. This further makes it hard for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. This condition can damage the heart and make it incapable to pump blood throughout the body. This is when heart attacks become more common.

The Daily Mail report also quoted Dr Susan Cheng, a cardiologist at Cedars Sinai who authored a 2023 study that found heart attack deaths in people 25 to 44 increased by nearly 30 percent during pandemic's early years. She had said back then as well that the connection was 'more than coincidental.' 

'Young people are obviously not really supposed to die of heart attack. They're not really supposed to have heart attacks at all…There are a lot of things that COVID can do to the cardiovascular system. It appears to be able to increase the stickiness of the blood and increase... the likelihood of blood clot formation. 'It seems to stir up inflammation in the blood vessels. It seems to also cause in some people an overwhelming stress—whether it's related directly to the infection or situations around the infection—that can also cause a spike in blood pressure.'

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