An Observational Study Showing Incidence of Heart Disease in the Male Population from North India.

ABSTRACT

Background: Structural Heart Disease (SHD) is a preventable cause of mortality. As age advances the morbidity rates due to SHD increases. SHD is more common in rural areas and lower socio-economic status because of poor hygiene and poor nutrition. The aim of this study was to find the incidence of heart disease in a male north Indian population. Method: A team consisting of three doctors examined all the candidates presenting over a period of one and a half years for enrollment at a particular Centre. The age group of this population was between 18 years to 22 years. All candidates underwent medical examination. Candidates having suspicion of SHD were referred to the physician/cardiologist. All those persons whose disability was within permissible limits were taken as fit and the others were taken as unfit. Results: Total 4223 candidates reported in the above period. 334 candidates who had disabilities were lost to follow-up and excluded, leaving a total of 3889 candidates. After specialist review, 1471 candidates were found unfit for various causes, out of which 283 were for cardiac murmurs. Many candidates were found to be suffering from multiples disabilities. Conclusion: Our study found an incidence rate of 72.7 per thousand which is much higher than that of other studies. The possible reasons for this could be that the persons are primarily from rural background and low socioeconomic strata which have a comparatively incidence of SHDs. Also contributing to the higher incidence may be the fact of stricter application of physical standards for enrollment in the army.