Millennials experience significantly more heart symptoms than older age group, reveals survey

On the occasion of World Heart Day, ManipalCigna would like to highlight that 23% of millennials have experienced symptoms that may indicate potential heart problems in the past 6 months compared to 17% of those aged 50+. Almost 77% agree that lifestyle changes can help heart health but 1 in 6 have not done have not done anything about it.

Low Awareness on Heart Health

When questioned as to whether respondents knew their own Body Mass Index (BMI) and blood pressure numbers, India fared better than the global average showing an awareness of heart health indicators. 61% know their BMI (compared to 51% globally) and 76% know their blood pressure compared to 66% globally.

However, they are aware of an average of 2.2 symptoms that may indicate potential heart problems compared to the global average of 2.4. Even worse, in the past six months, respondents experienced an average number of 2.3 symptoms compared to 1.8 globally. 1 in 3 people don’t think high blood pressure is curable with lifestyle change suggesting a gap in heart health education while only 38% of respondents use wearables to track and manage heart health.

A major finding of concern is that India has witnessed an alarming rise in the occurrence of heart disease and stroke in the past 25 years. Thus it is extremely worrying that despite the fact that millennials are BMI-aware and have a good perception of their physical wellness, their ever-increasing exposure to stress and perhaps their complacency when it comes to seeking professional help is detrimental to their health. Hence, it is extremely important to increase awareness about a heart-healthy lifestyle for everyone, and not just for people with existing health problem to reduce the risk of heart disease and improve quality of wellbeing”, says Prasun Sikdar, MD and Chief Executive Officer, ManipalCigna Health Insurance Company Limited.

When considering heart health, the body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure are good indicators. The Survey reveals that there is moderate understanding of BMI and blood pressure, yet a disparity exists between knowledge and active heart health management. Whether due to lack of opportunity or willpower, there is a gap between the two that needs to be bridged. The implementation of regular monitoring and measuring, inclusion of cardiovascular disease as part of medical coverage and laying the groundwork for lifestyle changes aimed at improving heart numbers are just some ways wellness programmes can target this deficiency.

The Cigna 360 Well-Being Survey, now on its fifth year, aims to examine people’s perceptions of well-being across five key indexes - physical, family, social, financial and work. The addition of Heart health awareness topic makes this Cigna’s most comprehensive survey to date. Heart health awareness is a key topic of this survey and underscored two important issues: the lack of understanding about symptoms that may indicate potential heart problems and how high blood pressure is manageable with lifestyle changes.