Mankind Pharma on Monday launched “Act at 30 – It’s Time for a Heart Check,” a nationwide preventive healthcare initiative aimed at encouraging Indians to begin cardiovascular screening from the age of 30 amid rising cases of early-onset heart disease and hypertension.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of emerging clinical evidence suggesting that nearly one in four Indians aged between 30 and 39 years may already be hypertensive or pre-hypertensive, often without being aware of their condition until serious complications arise.

According to the company, rapid urbanisation, high stress levels, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy dietary habits, and genetic predisposition are contributing to the growing burden of cardiovascular disease among younger adults.

A large-scale survey conducted by the company involving more than 20,000 healthcare professionals — including general physicians, consulting physicians, and cardiologists — found that over 90 per cent of clinicians support initiating heart health screening at the age of 30. However, the company noted that India currently lacks a standardised national protocol recognising age 30 as a preventive cardiovascular screening milestone.

The “Act at 30” campaign aims to bridge this gap by promoting baseline cardiovascular assessments at the age of 30 to facilitate early diagnosis and timely medical intervention.

The recommended screening includes blood pressure monitoring, blood glucose evaluation, lipid profiling, and assessment of obesity-related risk factors to detect warning signs before they progress into severe conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, or kidney disease.

The initiative is supported by findings published in The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, in a peer-reviewed national paper co-authored by leading cardiologists from across India advocating lower screening thresholds and earlier intervention.

Since its launch, the campaign has screened more than 100,000 individuals across parameters including blood pressure, ECG, and lipid profile assessments, the company said.

Commenting on the initiative, Sudipta Roy, Senior President – Sales and Marketing at Mankind Pharma, said that cardiovascular risk in India is increasingly shifting towards younger age groups, while awareness and preventive screening continue to lag behind.

“Hypertension at 32 carries the same clinical consequences as at 52, yet it offers a far greater opportunity for early intervention and long-term risk reduction. The challenge is that diagnosis still happens too late,” Roy said.

Dr. Uday M. Jadhav, Consultant in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Imaging at MGM New Bombay Hospital, said India is witnessing a sharp rise in hypertension and cardiovascular disease among adults below 40 years of age.

“Most screening programmes still focus on individuals above 40, resulting in delayed diagnosis and missed opportunities for prevention. Lowering the screening threshold to 30 could significantly improve early detection and long-term health outcomes,” he said.

The company said the initiative will be expanded through community outreach programmes, workplace screening drives, public awareness campaigns, and collaborations with medical experts to develop a national consensus framework on early cardiovascular screening.

Through the campaign, Mankind Pharma aims to establish age 30 as a recognised preventive health checkpoint in India and strengthen efforts to tackle the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.