Bangladeshis suffer heart attack early

Bangladeshis suffer heart attacks at least 10 years before those in the West, says a new study. The preliminary results of the study find presence of toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, copper and mercury in human blood that doubles the risk of heart attack in Bangladesh. It was not clear how the chemicals found their way in the blood, but food adulteration and arsenic in water, widespread in Bangladesh, could be the cause. The study also found a link between fish contaminated with formalin and other chemicals and heart attack, but suggested further study to firm the linkage. Cambridge University in UK, Dhaka-based research institution ICDDR,B and Bangladesh National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) are jointly conducting the ongoing study, preliminary results of which are now available. The study began in 2011 and 4,000 patients who suffered heart attack first time and as many healthy individuals have been analysed so far during the course of the study. It will continue for another couple of years after which the final results will be announced. But the Principal Investigator Dr Rajiv Chowdhury said the preliminary findings would likely be consistent with the final results. Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi cardiovascular scientist working at the Cambridge University in UK, said they found Bangladeshis on the average age suffered their first heart attack when they were 51 to 52 years of age. But 40 per cent of those who suffered heart attacks and were analysed for the study suffered their first heart attack when below 50 years of age. Diabetes, increased blood pressure, fats in blood and smoking are factors that heightens the general risk of heart attacks. Surprisingly only 4% of them were obese, making researchers wonder about the link between obesity and heart attacks and whether that was tenable in Bangladesh, according to bdnews24.com.