Sudden heart attack deaths: Karnataka govt to direct private firms to conduct annual health screenings for employees

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on July 7 said that all private and corporate companies in the state will soon be directed to conduct annual health screenings for their employees.

“Private companies and entrepreneurs are advised to conduct annual health check-ups for workers in their companies. At the government level, we have decided to conduct heart check-ups and screening for government and contract employees,” the minister said.

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He also said that all sudden heart attack deaths among people under the age of 45 will now have to be reported to the health department.

Rao clarified that there is no direct link between the Covid-19 vaccine and heart attacks. “All sudden deaths outside government hospitals will now be considered as notified diseases, and a postmortem examination will be mandatory to issue death certificates in such cases,” he said.

“Puneeth Rajkumar Hriday Jyoti Yojana, which offers emergency cardiac care similar to the Sanjeevini scheme, will be extended to all taluk hospitals across the state,” said Rao. The government plans to install self-operated AED (automated external defibrillator) machines at bus stands and railway stations and offer CPR training to the general public

Rao made these remarks while speaking to the media after receiving the report of an expert committee headed by Dr KS Ravindranath, director of the state-run Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru.

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The committee was tasked with studying the side effects of Covid-19, particularly in relation to cardiovascular health. The minister said the number of heart attacks has increased by 4 to 5 percent after Covid-19, but said that the expert report clearly states that the Covid vaccine is not a direct cause.

In light of the committee’s findings, the government has announced a series of measures to detect and prevent heart attacks at an early stage. The government also plans to conduct heart screenings for all 15-year-old schoolchildren and has written to the education department to include content on non-communicable diseases and cardiovascular health in school textbooks.

The expert committee’s report said that tobacco use is the leading cause of heart attacks in nearly 50 percent of the cases. Other contributing factors include diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and excessive steroid use. A comparative study of Jayadeva Hospital’s records before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, involving 253 heart disease patients, found that while 98 percent of the cases were vaccinated, only 19 were COVID-positive. Although there were some concerns related to mRNA vaccines, the report noted that these were not administered in India.

The minister also pointed to lifestyle factors, including excessive screen time, as a contributing factor to the rise in heart problems. While heart attacks were observed during the pandemic period, the report concluded that the adverse effects of Covid itself tend to diminish after three years. There may be a risk of blood vessel blockage within a year of infection, but the expert panel found no significant long-term link between Covid or its vaccine and the rise in heart attacks, Rao said.

Also, read: No evidence linking Covid or vaccines to sudden cardiac deaths; Karnataka panel refutes CM Siddaramaiah's claims