- In a new study, researchers say younger people may be more vulnerable to developing cardiovascular problems than previously believed.
- They say young adults need to pay more attention to cardiovascular risk indicators such as cholesterol and high blood pressure at an early age.
- Experts say early lifestyle modifications can reduce the risk of heart problems later in life.
Cardiovascular issues aren’t just a concern for the young at heart.
A new study says younger adults may be at a greater risk for developing artery-narrowing atherosclerosis and may be especially vulnerable to the effects of elevated blood cholesterol and hypertension, two typical modifiable cardiovascular risk factors.
Undertaken at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) in Spain, the research concludes that people need to start paying attention to their cardiovascular health at a younger age.
Published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the findings stress that younger adults need to aggressively control cardiovascular risk factors.
Researchers said that primary prevention strategies need to include “surveillance of subclinical atherosclerosis and early cardiovascular risk factor control.”
“Screening for subclinical atherosclerosis from an early age together with aggressive risk-factor control could help to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Valentin Fuster, the study’s co-leader and CNIC general director as well as physician-in-chief at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, in a statement.
The research team said subclinical atherosclerosis often progresses in middle-aged individuals, especially when blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol levels are even mildly elevated.
They also said both medical professionals and the general public should be aware that atherosclerosis progression can be halted if risk factors are managed aggressively from an early age.
“In this study, we show that moderate increases in blood…
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