Abstract
Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost can be thought of as "healthy years of life lost". DALYs combine years of potential life lost due to premature death with years of productive life lost due to disability. They indicate the total burden of a disease, as opposed to the resulting deaths. Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for 10% of DALYs lost in low and middle income and 18% in high income countries. The incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) is increasing in developing countries, partly as a result of increasing longevity, urbanization, and lifestyle changes. CAD burden is projected to rise from 47 million DALYs globally in 1990 to 82 million DALYs in 2020, of which 60% would be from developing countries. DALYs lost per thousand population; age standardized estimates for 2002 for India is 20-29 and is amongst the highest in the world. A report by World Health Organisation (WHO) says that by the end of this century, India would account for more than half of the total heart patients in the world and majority of them would be in the younger age group. This highlights the need for early diagnosis and prevention.