Kolkata: Former Bengal Ranji Trophy player Suvojit Banerjee died on Monday at the age of 39 due to cardiac arrest, sending shockwaves across the fraternity and bringing focus back on sudden death in young people.
According to family sources, Banerjee — who was still playing local cricket — opted for a nap after breakfast at his residence in Sonarpur. When he was found to be not responding to calls from his parents a few hours later, they called in a doctor who declared that he died in sleep.
Banerjee made his debut for Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Odisha in 2014 and went on to feature in three Ranji Trophy matches as well in that season.
"He was a teamman and a charming lad," said current Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla, under whose captaincy Banerjee debuted for Bengal. "His performance in domestic cricket caught everyone's notice at that time and his selection in the Bengal team was on expected lines," Shukla also pointed out.
Banerjee — who was a right-hand batter and a part-time off-spinner — played for East Bengal in domestic cricket from 2008-9 to 2016-17 and led the team twice.
Taking note of Banerjee's case, cardiologists in Kolkata have said that underlying cardiac issues could trigger a sudden heart attack, often without prior symptoms or with very muted ones, even for people with sports background.
"Some have congenital disorders that remain undiagnosed, including sportspersons. Since symptoms are often mild, they tend to ignore them. People tend to believe that a cardiac issue can develop only at an advanced age but that's not true. Arrhythmia or irregular heart beats, for example, often remains undiagnosed and turn out to be fatal. I have come across several youngsters who are into sports and fitness training who suffered heart attacks, sometimes fatal," said Fortis Hospital cardiovascular surgeon KM Mandana.
Young cardiac patients are likely to suffer a more lethal heart attack and their chances of survival were lower than elderly patients, pointed out BM Birla Heart Hospital interventional cardiologist Anjan Siotia.
"First, you wouldn't suspect a heart ailment in your thirties or forties and are likely to be more reckless about your diet and lifestyle. Few go for health check-ups, so diabetes and cholesterol often remain undetected triggering a sudden heart attack. Also, strangely it is the affluent and the educated section that takes longer to reach a hospital. They often waste precious time in consulting their friends and family members," Siotia said.
More than clinical factors, lifestyle reasons were responsible for heart attack striking early, felt cardiac surgeon Kunal Sarkar. "Diabetes sets in early in our country and is invariably followed by cardiac issues. Lack of physical activity and food habits were responsible for triggering diabetes, while stress is also a factor. But smokers with diabetes are likely to suffer the most aggressive form of heart attack and this is why many die even before reaching a hospital. And the size of this section is increasing with each passing year," said Sarkar.
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