Deprived of access to essential items and basic necessities such as gas, fuel and milk powder, Sri Lanka’s public has been greatly inconvenienced over the past few months due to the prevailing economic and political crisis. The soaring cost of living and the fact that people have to languish in long queues have taken a toll on people’s mental and physical health. 

“We observe an increase in the number of heart attack patients and the trend is high among a few younger patients as well,” opined Consultant General and Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Chamara Ratnayake. “We cannot conclude the exact reason but it’s a combination of many reasons. People are going through high levels of stress over the past few months and people who have risk factors are at risk of having heart attacks.”

When asked about challenges due to the prevailing shortage of medicines, Dr. Ratnayake said that there may be issues in the government service. “But the Medical Supplies Division has procured life saving medication.” 
Three categories of risk factors include major, modifiable and contributing risk factors. 

Major risk factors that cannot be changed include age, male gender and heredity. Modifiable risk factors that could be treated, modified or controlled include tobacco smoke, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity and being overweight and diabetes. Other risk factors that contribute to risk of heart disease include stress, alcohol, diet and nutrition.