World Heart Day 2017 Healthcare Map highlights the rising concerns about heart-related problems in India’s top cities. These findings can help healthcare experts understand some of the key trends associated with heart health issues that people are seeking medical advice for, in the country and take necessary steps to curb the same.

Practo World Heart Day 2017 Healthcare Map is a comprehensive look at the cardiovascular-related health trends across the nation. Annually, Practo facilitates 50M appointments on its platform. This report is based on the actual appointments that were booked via Practo.com and the Practo app including online consultations across India on Practo Consult, especially focused on Delhi & NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune.
The report is entirely based on actual patient actions such as booking appointments with a doctor and online consultations facilitated on the platform with Practo Consult.

More Urban Indians are visiting cardiologists and consulting online

• Overall, growth in appointments with cardiologists was 47% in 2017 as compared to 2016
• Patients are exploring consulting doctors online as it gives them greater privacy and helps them to connect with specialists instantly. This is evidenced by a 203% increase in patients using Practo Consult for cardiovascular health concerns.

Women are less conscious of their heart health problems

• Out of the people who booked an appointment with cardiologist, only 25% of them are women
• 75% are men in the age group of 25-30 compared to only 25% women and only 20% are women in the age group of 31-35 compared to 80% men were amongst those who consulted online for CVD and heart-related issues last year.This probably suggests that women are less aware of their heart health problems as compared to men.

Possible causes of CVD (Cardiovascular diseases) & other heart health problems

As per WHO, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, stress, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes etc. are some of the major contributors to the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

**Summary of Practo WHD 2017 Healthcare Map Findings

• Overall, growth in appointments with cardiologists increased by 47% in 2017 when compared to 2016
• Patients are exploring consulting doctors online as it gives them greater privacy and helps them to connect with specialists instantly. This is evidenced by a 203% increase in patients using Practo Consult for cardiovascular health concerns
• 75% men and 25% women visited a cardiologist for CVD & heart-related issues in the past year
• People in the age group of 25-30 visited cardiologists the most followed by the age group of 30-35. The age-group 25-30 also saw the highest growth in people visiting a cardiologist – 49% in 2017, as compared to 2016
• 75% are men in the age group of 25-30 compared to only 25% women. And only 20% are women in the age group of 31-35 compared to 80% men were amongst those who consulted online for CVD and heart-related issues last year
• Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai saw the highest growth (108%, 59% and 36% respectively) in cardiologists appointments in 2017 as compared to 2016
• Top cities where people consulted cardiologists online the most include- Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune
• Some of the most common symptoms due to which patients consulted specialists online were anxiety, palpitations, blood pressure (BP problem), chest pain etc 
• The months of July to October see the highest number of appointments with cardiologists in the year.

“CVD is the number one killer in the world. Each year, it’s responsible for 17.5 million deaths. Heart-related problems are becoming more prevalent among Indians today. These are because of unhealthy lifestyle habits like – lack of exercise or inactivity, unhealthy diets, smoking and the increasing incidence of hypertension or stress. Many patients who visit me, often suffer from stress-related issues, high blood pressure/ high cholesterol level, palpitation which are often early signs of heart-related problems or CVDs and if they are not tackled on time can lead to a heart attack or even heart failure. It is advised to take small but significant steps towards being heart healthy like making exercise a daily routine, inculcate a habit of healthy eating, giving up smoking, having your blood pressure checked regularly, eating at least 5 portions of vegetables & fruits daily and visiting your doctor for getting your heart health checked to keep your heart healthy & strong.” – Dr P V Suresh, Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Narayana Hrudayalaya

Keeping a healthy heart can go a long way in maintaining a healthy body. Therefore, it is advised that people take the necessary steps to ensure a healthy heart for their near and dear ones –

• Inculcate healthy eating habits: Include more than 5 portions of fruits & vegetables in daily diet
• Remain fit: Even a 30-minute walk is a healthy start, so imbibing an exercise regime can help in keeping a healthy heart
• Keep a healthy mind and a healthy heart: A good night’s sleep or meditation is a great way to achieve more mindfulness. It is also important to make self-care a priority along with rest & relaxation
• Routine health check-up: Monitoring blood pressure (BP) is a good way to control as it is one of the main reasons for heart-related health issues. Apart from that, it is always better to get a regular heart check-up which includes checking weight, BMI, cholesterol, fasting blood glucose test etc.

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**All growth % data is a comparison of Aug ‘16 v/s Aug ‘17
#The age & gender of the users is based on the representative demographics data captured by Practo directly or through third party tools such as Google Analytics.