September, 2025 – Jabalpur is facing an unmistakable surge in heart disease cases this year, with doctors reporting growing numbers of patients suffering from coronary artery disease, heart attacks, heart failure, hypertension, and irregular heart rhythms. What was once considered an ailment of old age is now increasingly affecting people in their thirties and forties, with sudden cardiac arrests during workouts or sports becoming alarmingly frequent.
The reasons are deeply rooted in the city’s lifestyle shifts. Processed and fried foods have replaced traditional diets, office-bound routines have reduced physical activity, and stress levels are at an all-time high. Tobacco use remains widespread while long working hours and poor sleep patterns add further strain on cardiovascular health. Doctors also note a dangerous trend where many middle-aged individuals, after years of inactivity, suddenly take up high-intensity exercise without undergoing basic heart screenings such as ECG or cholesterol checks, leading to fatal outcomes in gyms and public spaces. At the same time, awareness about preventive screenings remains low, with many residents over 40 skipping regular checkups despite having family histories of diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease.
Jabalpur is home to advanced hospitals like Shalby, Apollo, and Niramay Heart Centre, which provide both invasive and non-invasive treatments including angioplasty, bypass surgery, and EECP. Yet experts insist that treatment alone cannot keep pace with the rising numbers and that prevention must be prioritized.
, MD (Medicine), DM Cardiology (AIIMS New Delhi), Consultant Cardiologist at Shalby Hospital and S.S. Medical College Jabalpur, cautioned that the real problem lies in neglecting simple preventive measures. He said, “We are seeing an undeniable surge in heart disease in Jabalpur. The worrying part is that patients are getting younger—men and women in their thirties are coming in with heart attacks and advanced coronary artery disease. The root causes are clear: unhealthy diets, sedentary routines, smoking, stress, and lack of regular health screenings. What concerns me most is the sudden, unsupervised exercise culture, where people push their limits in gyms without checking their heart health first. My advice is simple: get screened, start slow, and make exercise a consistent habit rather than a one-time effort. Prevention through lifestyle change is still the strongest medicine we have.”
As the city marks World Heart Day, Jabalpur’s rising cases stand as a warning that heart disease is no longer confined to the elderly. The thread running through most of these tragedies is preventable—timely screening, gradual exercise, a balanced diet, stress control, and quitting tobacco could save countless lives. Experts say that without a cultural shift toward prevention, the city risks losing more of its young and working-age population to a disease that is both predictable and avoidable