Dubai: The shocking death of Manjunath Naidu, one of Dubai’s popular stand-up comedians, during a live show last Friday, has raised several health concerns, especially among young professionals from the Indian subcontinent.

Health studies conducted globally have indicated that people from the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) have a genetic predisposition for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) at a much younger age than others.

Indians die 10 years earlier of heart disease than other populations in the world, according to these studies.

One report published in the Vascular Health journal by Indian researchers Meenakshi Kumar and Nirmal Kumar Ganguly says that young Indians in the age group of 35-45 years are predisposed to premature CAD and die of heart disease 10-15 years earlier compared to other populations in the rest of the world.

An Interheart study conducted by Canadian doctor Salim Yousef, published in the Lancet in 2004, points out that more than 80 per cent of the burden of Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) is taken on by people from low income groups.

It is a well- known fact that Indians worldwide have a genetic propensity to heart disease. Sometimes, there are no symptoms at all and yet, an individual gets a sudden heart attack.
– Dr Brajesh Mittal, interventional cardiologist at Medcare Hospital

Countries from the Indian subcontinent feature prominently in this list.

Commenting on this trend of premature CAD, Dr Brajesh Mittal, interventional cardiologist at Medcare Hospital, told Gulf News: “It is a well- known fact that Indians worldwide have a genetic propensity to heart disease. Sometimes, there are no symptoms at all and yet, an individual gets a sudden heart attack.”