Recently, during the Garba festival in Gujarat, a number of heart attack cases were reported. Men and women who are not even 40 years old, died during the festivities. Doctors later established that they were heart attack cases.
The series of deaths in Gujarat has raised concern among many. On Monday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has already done a detailed study of the spate of heart attacks among youngsters in India in the post-pandemic era. "The study says that those who have had severe Covid-19 infection within the past two years should avoid overexertion, excessive workout, running or over-exercising to avoid heart attacks," the Minister has been quoted as saying by ANI.
This is the first time that the government is openly linking unusual and sudden heart attacks with Covid-19 by quoting a credible source. The ICMR study, for some reason, has not been publicized much.
Netizens are urging the Centre to do more so that the study receives adequate publicity. "The government should have taken these untimely heart attacks seriously. It's high time," a Netizen wrote. At this point of time, there is no definition of what constitutes "severe Covid-19".
