KOTA KINABALU: Malaysians as young as 37 are at risk of being diagnosed with a heart attack, said a leading cardiologist.
“This makes us the nation with the youngest age group of those at risk compared to our Asian neighbours,” said Dr Ahmad Ashraf Z. Anwar.
Dr Ahmad, an interventional cardiologist and physician, said this was mainly due to the person’s lifestyle or diet.
“In Malaysia, there are 25,000 cases (of heart attacks) every year.
“The youngest that we have treated here was 27 while the oldest was 91," the resident consultant at Gleneagles Hospital Kota Kinabalu said at the launch of the hospital’s 24-hour Heart Attack Centre here.
Present were Sabah Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk Frankie Poon and the hospital chief executive officer Noel Cheah.
Dr Ahmad said time is everything when heart attacks occur.
“The sooner you get to a hospital, the more treatment options you have.
“The best treatment for a heart attack is primary angioplasty for reduced short-term mortality by 34 per cent, reduced stroke by 63 per cent, reduced long-term mortality by 24 per cent and reduced risk of further heart attacks by 51 per cent,” he added.
Poon, meanwhile, said heart attacks were the leading cause of deaths worldwide.
“It is very common and often occurs without warning. Hence, preventing heart attacks in the first place is the best treatment.
“This comes in the form of identifying and treating any risk factors proven to be effective in preventing heart attacks,” he said, adding that regular screening and maintaining balanced diets and regular exercise would be the best prevention.