MUMBAI: A 28-year-old engineer is possibly the youngest in the world to have undergone eight cardiac bypass procedures. Doctors in Mumbai who operated on Prashant Pawar said his heart, with its choked arteries, resembled the heart of a 70-year-old.

In young adults with heart disease, more than two blockages are considered rare. Pawar had seven: three 40%, three 70% and one 100%. He suffers from a genetic condition that raises cholesterol levels; Pawar's father died of heart attack when he was 50.

Cardiac surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda who operated upon Pawar said, "A patient aged 28 is seldom suspected to be suffering from heart disease. Such cases often end in disaster as heart attacks in young patients are more likely to be fatal as they don't have enough alternate circulation." As one ages, the body creates tiny alternative routes for blood to travel to the heart, he said.

Pawar's initial symptoms appeared in November 2012 in the form of shoulder pain. He mistook it for acidity till the pain became intolerable. An angiography revealed five blockages (30-70%). "I was put on medication. But my cholesterol issues remained undiagnosed," he told TOI.

Within months, one of the blockages progressed to 100%. In December 2013 he was referred to the Asian Heart Hospital where doctors immediately advised bypass surgery.

Dr N O Bansal, head of cardiology, JJ Hospital, said multiple blockages in a 28-year-old are "very uncommon".

"Heart diseases are a mix of bad genes and lifestyle. While one cannot modify genes, lifestyle can always be modified. Early and regular preventive checks, a low fat diet and exercise can tackle the epidemic of cholesterol that has hit India like in most western countries," he said.

