By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: Several deaths among youths have been reported as a result of sudden heart attacks, both locally and globally. Due to this, many people are questioning the reasons that caused these incidents, especially in healthy youths who enjoy good health and lifestyle. Kuwait Times spoke to interventional and sport cardiologist Dr Yahya Al-Ansari and discussed with him his point of view regarding this issue and addressed rumors that the COVID-19 vaccine may have had a negative effect on those youths and caused their death, as this rumor has been spreading among people since the beginning of the pandemic.

Dr Yahya Al-Ansari

Dr Ansari said this question on the effect of the vaccine has been answered before and there were several medical reports and statements related to it, but people are still not convinced as they still blame the vaccine on these sudden deaths among youths. He explained COVID-19 has two consequences: One of them is COVID itself, away from the vaccine, as the COVID virus can cause inflammation of the heart muscle called myocarditis. He pointed out the possibility of this happening due to inflammation is one in a million from the vaccination. “Meanwhile, the possibility of having inflammation of heart muscle or the cover of the heart due to COVID-19 itself is one in 100, which is a huge difference,” he noted.

“On top of that, cases of heart attacks that have been reported due to the vaccine had a mild disease, while patients who got the COVID infection and had high or moderately severe disease were exposed more to heart attacks. Therefore, we should care about the virus itself and not the vaccine as a source of heart attacks,” Dr Ansari said.

Regarding the main cause of heart attacks among youths, he explained genetics plays a main role in affecting youths’ heart health. This is not the only risk factor, but one of the hidden causes that lead to sudden cardiac arrest or sudden death from a heart problem. He said the main problem about genetics is that it cannot be treated to help the patients. Other factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, smoking and bad diet are treatable.

Dr Ansari explained the difference between heart problems and attacks. “Sudden cardiac arrest or sudden death from a heart problem differs from heart attacks, as the latter leads to a blockage in the arteries, but heart problems only affect the cover of the heart,” he said. “In fact, 80 percent of the time that youth, especially athletes who die suddenly, die of a heart problem and not heart attacks, while the remaining 20 percent die due to other reasons.”

Meanwhile, he mentioned that heart attacks are the most common cause of death worldwide, and also ranks first in Kuwait. He pointed out 80 percent of the causes in heart deaths are due to genetics. “When young athletes who enjoy a healthy lifestyle, are in good shape and exercise well die suddenly due to heart problems, mostly it is due to genetics. The medical explanation will not be due to a blockage of the arteries, but because of the muscle itself or abnormal electrical activity in the heart,” Dr Ansari said.

Over exercising

Asked if overexercising may lead to sudden heart problems or heart attacks, Dr Ansari said only if the patient has a genetic problem, they trigger this with exercising. “It is an existing problem masked by a sedentary lifestyle, but once you exercise, you’re putting stress on the heart and it cannot tolerate it. Even mild exercises could lead to bad consequences.” But he pointed out that genetic problems are not that common, as only 1 in 500 or 1,000 people have a genetic problem.

Preventive methods

Kuwait Times asked Dr Ansari about the best preventive methods a person can adopt. “If a person and especially athletes are following a bad diet, it doesn’t mean that is the only reason. Sometimes it would be just using a bad supplement, drinking too much caffeine or taking energy drinks a lot before workouts. All of these things affect the electricity of the heart,” he said.

Dr Ansari warned that on top of following a healthy lifestyle, if any person has a family member with a history of heart problems, especially the youth (between 20 and 30 years old), they have to seek medical attention and screening for any possible heart problems. “If they have any symptoms while exercising, I recommend them to stop and seek medical attention, whether due to chest pain, difficulty in breathing, dizziness or losing consciousness while exercising,” he said.