Lack of these vitamins in your body can cause blood vessels to shrink, plaque to accumulate, risk of heart attack…

New Delhi:- Risk of coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It is important to understand that 50 percent of heart attacks occur in people whose cholesterol levels are normal. Dr H N Ravikumar, VP, Metropolis Healthcare, Karnataka, said that atherosclerosis, which is responsible for most cases of heart attack, can be caused by many other reasons other than high cholesterol, such as lifestyle, genetics, etc.

What is atherosclerosis?
In atherosclerosis, plaque starts accumulating inside the walls of the arteries, due to which these arteries shrink and gradually a time comes when some parts of the body start getting less blood flow. When an artery carrying blood to the heart gets blocked, it causes a heart attack. Sometimes this plaque breaks or separates and reaches another part of the body such as the brain and in such a case causes stroke or any serious disease.

Family History
Some families also have genetic conditions such as familial hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and hyperhomocysteinemia that can cause heart disease. Familial hypercholesterolemia causes dangerously high cholesterol levels, while hypercholesterolemia causes increased levels of homocysteine, an amino acid linked to heart disease. Sometimes, the levels also increase due to a deficiency of certain vitamins in the body, especially vitamin B12 and B6, which is why it is important to have adequate levels of these vitamins in the body to keep the heart healthy.

Vitamin D deficiency
One of the reasons for the risk of heart disease is vitamin D. Although it is considered essential for bone health, recent research has shown that vitamin D also plays an important role in our heart health and a deficiency of this vitamin increases the risk of heart disease.

Lipoprotein(a) and early risk of heart disease
Detection of lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) is also becoming common during heart health screening in India. High levels of Lp(a) in the body are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. People with high Lp(a) levels and other family history are at risk of heart attack as early as 40 or 50, even if they look fit and healthy on the outside.

Guidelines to prevent heart disease at a young age
The Cardiology Society of India has released new guidelines for heart health tests starting at age 18. These include lipid profile tests, which measure cholesterol and triglyceride levels, homocysteine, Lp(a) and certain other markers such as apolipoprotein A1 and B. These tests are more accurate than conventional cholesterol tests for a person's overall cardiovascular risk.

Addressing risk factors early
Genetics play an important role in heart disease, but lifestyle cannot be ignored either. Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking are also responsible for heart diseases. Apart from these, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and lack of adequate sleep also increase the risk. All these aspects should be worked upon in time, especially the youth can reduce the risk of heart disease in the future by paying attention to them.

Other diagnostic tools
For people at high risk, some additional tests such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and high-sensitivity troponin I are also important. These tests are helpful in detecting inflammation and damage to the heart muscle even before symptoms of heart disease appear. Apart from these, regular monitoring through ECG, treadmill test and echocardiogram are also important for heart health. It is important to consult a cardiologist to understand the results of these tests.

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