Heart Disease Risk Starts Early

Risk factors in young adults aged 18 to 30 can significantly increase heart disease later in life.

That's the finding in a new study from the National Institute of Health, in which researchers also found that the young adulthood risk factors were better predictors, in some cases, than measurements taken later in life.

The study tracked over 3,000 young adults from 1985 to 2000. The measures taken in 1985 that best predicted later thickening of coronary calcium -- itself a precursor to atherosclerosis and heart disease -- were

• having a too-high body mass index
• smoking
• high blood pressure
• elevated LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels
• high blood sugar levels

The study appears to be the first that shows that heart disease risk assessment can begin when patients are still in their twenties. And it means that it really is never too early to start a healthy diet, and exercise.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

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Links:
NIH press release
Medpage Today Teaching Brief
Reuters / Scientific American