A 19-year-old boy from Telangana’s Ameerpet collapsed during his Class 12 exams on Saturday. He was writing his class 12 exams at the Sri Chaitanya College examination centre in Secunderabad when the incident occurred.
M Gopi Raju, a resident of Ameerpet, was a student of YMCA New Government College in Telangana. According to the police, he complained of chest pain before the exam and a little later, collapsed in the examination hall. Though the official cause of death has not been determined yet, police suspect it could have been a heart attack.
"At 8.45 am, after reaching the examination venue, Raju complained of chest pain. When his friends advised him to go to a hospital, he refused, saying he was fine. He purchased some medicine from a medical store, took them and went to attend the exam. After reaching the hall, he suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to Sunshine Hospital, but he was declared dead,” Ramgopalpet sub-inspector Pratap Reddy told TNM.
Police have filed a case under Section 174 of the CrPC (unnatural death) and have sent his body to Gandhi Hospital for an autopsy. "Only after getting the autopsy report, we can ascertain the reason for the death," Reddy added.
Several cardiologists are reporting that there is an increase in the number of young people presenting with heart attacks and have attributed stress and inactive lifestyles as the causes behind this alarming trend.
In 2018, doctors reportedly saw at least 150 cases of heart attacks occurring in people below the age of 25, in Bangalore alone, with at least 8 cases involving teens around the age of 16. Lifestyle changes, pollution, genetics and dietary preferences have all been attributed to the sudden surge of cardiac problems in a young age group.