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Heart Health
What’s driving heart attacks in younger adults?
- By Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
Research we're watching
Growing numbers of people ages 55 and younger — especially women — are having heart attacks. But the underlying causes appear to differ somewhat by sex, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed data from 2,264 people ages 18 to 55 who were hospitalized for a heart attack and 2,264 people matched by age, sex, and race who served as a control group. The investigators found that seven factors — diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, current smoking, family history of early heart attack, low household income, and high cholesterol — accounted for 85% of the risk of first heart attack in both men and women.
But diabetes was linked to the greatest risk among women, while current smoking was the biggest factor for men. Low household income tracked with a higher risk in women but not men, whereas high cholesterol and physical inactivity were linked to a higher risk in men but not in women. The study was published May 3, 2022, in JAMA Network Open.
Image: © RUNSTUDIO/Getty Images
About the Author
Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
Disclaimer:
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No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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Controlling Your Blood Pressure
An alarming one in three American adults has high blood pressure. Known medically as hypertension, many people don't even know they have it, because high blood pressure has no symptoms or warning signs. But when elevated blood pressure is accompanied by abnormal cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to your arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially. Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect and treat. In the Special Health Report, Controlling Your Blood Pressure, find out how to keep blood pressure in a healthy range simply by making lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, increasing activity, and eating more healthfully.
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