By PTI

MUMBAI: There was a 40 percent growth in claims related to cardiovascular diseases in the age group of 35 years and below during 2016-17 compared to the previous year, according to data released by SBI General Insurance.

"As our data points out, there has been an increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases amongst millennials (a term used to refer to the generation born from 1980 onward). "Individuals below 35 years have made 40 per cent more claims in FY17 compared to FY16, whereas 35-45 year olds made 32 per cent more claims in the same period," said SBI General Insurance Deputy Vice-President, Accident and Health Claims, Sukhesh Bhave.

He said a majority of the claims settled under cardiovascular diseases were for ischemic heart disease, angioplasty, myocardial infarction, rheumatic heart ailments and CABG (coronary artery bypass grafting) surgeries.

"Claims by men went up by 12 per cent in FY17 compared to FY16, while those by women witnessed a slight reduction of 5 per cent during the same period. Geographically, Maharashtra continues to see the highest number of claims in cardiovascular diseases."

This demonstrates the fact that cardiovascular ailments are no longer restricted to individuals within older age groups, the data indicated. SBI General Insurance considered claims data across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Telangana during FY16 and FY17.

SBI General Insurance, which began its operations in 2010, is a joint venture between public sector lender State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG).