Data from the Health Insurance Fund shows about 30 people aged 25 to 39 have a heart attack in Estonia every year. At present, more than 13,000 young adults have been diagnosed with heart disease. Men make up 69 percent of those affected.

Viigimaa, a cardiologist at the North Estonia Medical Centre (PERH) and the initiator of Heart Month, said on "R2 päevas" that the concerns of young people are not a problem unique to Estonia. Across the world, health experts are worried about reduced movement and increasing screen time.

"In our hospital, the North Estonia Medical Centre, which is the largest heart attack treatment hospital in Estonia, there was a doctors' conference yesterday morning, as there is every morning, and over the weekend one 35-year-old man had come in with a heart attack and one 40-year-old woman as well. It was perhaps a bit exceptional that there were so many in one weekend," he said.

Viigimaa said the health choices made at a young age are of decisive importance. The lifestyle formed in one's twenties and thirties largely determines a person's health in older age.

"Thirty to 40 is already the age when small disturbances, stabbing pains in the heart area, arrhythmias and higher blood pressure appear, and then people begin to think," he explained. "The positive thing is that at this age it is possible to reduce the risk of heart disease enormously, and heart disease is very preventable."

"First of all, we begin to use all the non-medication options: weight loss, increased physical activity, limiting salt intake. People are more concerned about their health. Men too, for whom the risk is highest at this age – women's risk until the age of 50 is relatively modest – have begun to understand more."

Sitting is the new smoking

The doctor also highlighted the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. He called constant sitting the new smoking.

Regular exercise is important, but it does not completely cancel out the harms of prolonged sitting. People are advised to find everyday ways to increase their activity, such as using the stairs instead of the lift or taking short walking breaks.

"Even if we go to training in the evening, we cannot completely avoid the harmful effects of an eight- or 10-hour sitting regime, which have been identified, for example, in blood indicators," the cardiologist said. "We definitely should take breaks, walk briskly around, go to other floors using the stairs instead of the lift."

In addition to exercise, healthy eating and stress reduction are important. Viigimaa stressed the importance of regular health check-ups, because illnesses with hidden symptoms require early detection.

High blood pressure is the leading cause of death in the world, and in Estonia, 350,000 people receive a prescription for its treatment each year. By changing one's lifestyle, it is possible to delay the worsening of the disease and the need for treatment by decades.

Some people have even become too anxious about their health, Viigimaa said.

"Health awareness has increased a great deal, which in turn creates stress. It is quite difficult to deal with people who are anxious about their health. But it is somewhat a better option than ignorant behaviour, where people think that even if their cholesterol or blood pressure is high, nothing can be wrong with their health because they feel fine."

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