India, July 2 -- A sudden spike in heart attack-related deaths in Karnataka's Hassan district has prompted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order a high-level investigation. The move comes after four people died of cardiac arrest within a span of 24 hours, and a total of 21 such deaths have been reported in the district over the past 40 days.

Alarmed by the unusual pattern, the Chief Minister on Tuesday announced the formation of an expert panel, led by Dr C N Manjunath. The team has been directed to thoroughly investigate the cause of these sudden deaths and submit its findings within 10 days.

Siddaramaiah raised serious concerns about the increasing number of young people succumbing to cardiac arrests and questioned whether side effects...