Ahmedabad: Why are more people dropping dead from heart attacks? A post-mortem-based study conducted at BJ Medical College revealed that, irrespective of the cause of death, the hearts of 40% of the deceased had narrowed arteries due to advanced atherosclerosis.Atherosclerosis is a condition where plaque, a substance made of cholesterol, fat, and other materials, builds up inside the arteries, causing them to narrow and harden. This restricts blood flow and can lead to various health problems, including heart attacks and strokes.Out of 131 hearts dissected by the BJMC experts, 58 had advanced plaque buildup. What’s more, another 30% showed early signs of atherosclerosis, indicating the widespread prevalence of the condition.Cardiologists say that apart from causing heart attacks due to reduced blood flow, atherosclerosis can trigger a sudden cardiac arrest when some of this material gets dislodged and blocks the artery completely. Severe conditions are often linked with sudden deaths with no apparent warning signs, they added.The study ‘Coronary Atherosclerosis by Modified American Heart Association Classification – An Autopsy Study’ by Dr SR Parikh, Dr UR Parikh, and Dr HM Goswami from the Department of Pathology at the BJ Medical College was recently published in the BJMC journal BJ Kines – National Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (NJBAS).The researchers said that 131 hearts were procured from the autopsy section between January and April 2025. With due process, different segments of the hearts were examined to understand their condition from the pathology perspective. The results indicated that out of the total, 40 samples showed signs of early onset in the form of pathologic intimal thickening (PIT), accounting for 30%, whereas 58 samples showed signs of conditions such as thin cap atheroma, fibrous cap atheroma, and calcific nodule, accounting for 44% of the total samples.Dr UR Parikh, one of the authors of the study, said that the two major takeaways were gender metrics and age factors. “About two-thirds of the cases of atherosclerosis were recorded among men, whereas the prevalence of PIT was found to be 31% in patients below 40 years. In 15% of cases of patients below 40 years, advanced atherosclerosis conditions were found,” she said.Experts cited a state-based study carried out in 2013 with over 200 samples where the prevalence of PIT for patients below 40 years was found to be 10%.City-based experts said that the formation of plaque is a lifelong process. “It starts in the early teen years and continues until advanced age,” said Dr Sameer Dani, a senior interventional cardiologist. “It is caused by an erratic lifestyle, fatty food intake, and a sedentary lifestyle. When we see such patients, we employ both medical and lifestyle-related interventions.”Dr Jay Shah, a city-based interventional cardiologist, said that about a decade earlier, intervention at 45 years was considered to be early. “Now the age has come down to 35 years as we see a high number of cases in the below-40 years age group. Not all fat deposits are dangerous or worrisome, but their nature is also important. If it gets calcified and restricts the flow or blocks the artery, it can send the heart into a condition identified as arrhythmia or irregular heartbeats, which can even cause death,” he said.“Fatty streak in the arteries is a common feature in a large number of heart patients. But its severity can only be ascertained with multiple other tests. The numbers should be seen as cautionary for lifestyle modifications and ensuring heart health through regular exercise and a balanced diet. Early onset of severe atherosclerosis for young patients should surely be seen as a caution,” said Dr Kamal Sharma, a senior faculty member at UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre (UNMICRC).