A poor lifestyle with lack of sleep, binge drinking, and high stress, coupled with genes, is playing a significant role in the rising heart-related deaths in India, said experts on Saturday.

Recently, an increasing number of heart-related deaths have been reported in the country. These have also been among people who are seemingly fit and are maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

“Not all can be called heart attacks. About 20 per cent of the heart-related deaths in India are because of certain genes,” said Dr Rajiv Bhal, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).