Coronary artery disease (CAD) is quite common among people below the age of 50, and its incidences are steadily increasing in India. Cardiac surgeons and cardiologists treat lot of young patients suffering from CAD, requiring either angioplasty or bypass surgery.

The most common causes for CAD are stressed lifestyle, increasing urbanisation, smoking, unhealthy eating habits, increasing diabetes, hypertension, addiction to drugs, especially cocaine, and excessive alcohol intake.

Fortunately, all the reasons mentioned above are modifiable and can be changed or controlled, However, unmodiflable factors include familial hyper triglycerides and increased cholesterol in the blood that can be only controlled to some extent and put people at an increased risk of CAD.

It is a devastating disease, precisely because an otherwise healthy person may die or become disabled without warning at a young age. When the afflicted individual is under the age of 50, the consequences for the family, friends and colleagues are particularly catastrophic and unexpected.

The incidences of CAD in young adults are about 3% of all the coronary artery disease, but the incidences are steadily increasing and it may be “the tip of an iceberg, ” says Dr. Rajneesh Malhotra.

As young, asymptomatic patients typically do not undergo medical test regularly, the true prevalence of this disease may be underestimated.

It is well recognised that these patients are mostly males and may have several risks factors as mentioned above. Cigarette smoking has been the single factor that has been associated that most with CAD in young adults. It increases the risk three times more as compared to non smokers. It also causes damage to the inner lining of vessels, causing more thrombosis. Coronary vasospasm occurs in the person who take coca in in the person who take coca in or any such drugs.

There have been several causes of acute myocardial infarction in patients who suffer Frome acute alcohol intoxication

Young woman have a protective effect because of oestrogen, but if they are smokers, diabetic, hypertensive or on oral contraceptives, they are also equally prone for coronary artery disease. If the patients can control these modifiable risk factors, have a better prognosis than the elderly and go for periodic check-up of lipid profile, blood sugar, stress test and CT coronary angiography, they can diagnose coronary artery disease at an early stage and control the damage. Modified lifestyle, yoga and de-stressing helps a lot in taking care of such diseases