Stress, pressure, and lifestyle lead to heart problems in young people say experts.
Tanishka a standard 10 student said “Exams always come with pressure and the results also make me feel tensed as future admissions depend on them. Giving offline exams after a gap of two years was a bit of worry as I was appearing for boards. But increased exam duration and hosting exams in the same school relieved the tension.”
Increased stress, pressure and unhealthy lifestyle lead to increased heart problems among children below the age of 19 said Dr. Ravi Singhavi, cardiologist. “This may also lead to stroke or heart attack.”
A report states that people below age 19 account for the second-highest heart problems in India.
Jothsana, an entrepreneur whose son appeared for Pre University (PU) II exams this year said, “I am deeply concerned about health of my son, more after reading about such incidents in the papers. No one is to be blamed here, in my opinion.”
There have been recent incidents of students’ death due to heart attacks. In Gujarat during the twelfth standard board exam, two students died due to heart problems, in Mysuru a girl giving her Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exam died when the invigilator told her that she arrived at the wrong exam centre.
Dr. Singhavi said, “Many times, a heart problem is the tip of the iceberg and the real cause is deep-rooted and something entirely different. Sedentary lifestyles can also be the reason which leads to problems like obesity, above normal Body Mass Index (BMI), foodhabits, etc.”Varad a student who gave the second year of Pre-University (PU) said “To be honest, I have lost the habit of giving offline exams. Since the pandemic started all the classes were online. I can’t say anything more. It is not like before.”
The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) conducted the standard tenth and twelfth board exams offline this year after a gap of two years.
“As the situation gets better parents should expose their children to sports which teach children how to handle pressure, how to face difficulties, how to plan/prepare for the situation, how to enjoy the win and most importantly how to face defeat,” said Prashant Joshi, Tanishka’s father.
Singhvi said that there are other reasons. “There have been several cases with post covid complications. It is a prominent factor nowadays. Along with this, a disturbed metabolism is also a factor. Some anatomic structure leads to heart problems. There are other factors which are related to weather, like dehydration and sunstroke due to increased temperatures,” he added.
A study shows that Indians suffer from heart problems 8-10 years before the rest of the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) report shows that India accounts for one-fifth of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.
Singhvi said that many times students are still recovering from another illness or are not properly treated and are forced to give an exam as they cannot be missed can also lead to cardiac arrest. All this can be avoided with a healthy lifestyle, nutrient-rich food habits, etc.
