'Surprising' lack of progress on heart disease in younger adults, especially in women

By ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News

fotostorm, iStock/Getty Images Plus
(fotostorm, iStock/Getty Images Plus)

After years of declining rates of coronary artery disease, new research shows the trend is reversing among younger people, especially women.

The culprit may be the rise in obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure rates among young adults, according to a .

Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver looked at 17 years of data from 12,519 people. The participants were men under 50 and women under 55 who were diagnosed for the first time with premature heart disease – specifically coronary artery disease. That's when plaque, made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances in the blood, blocks arteries and limits blood flow to the heart.

Rather than going down, the rates of heart disease remained flat for younger adults.

"It's very surprising that there was absolutely no reduction in younger adults," said Dr. Liam Brunham, the study's co-senior author. "This is in stark contrast to the rates of heart disease overall, which are actually coming down quite significantly because of improvements in education, diagnosis and treatment."

The number of deaths among younger adults with heart disease didn't improve either. While those mortality rates among the study patients did drop 31% early in the study, they remained steady for the last nine years.

Those numbers echoed a May from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It showed heart disease death rates among people in the United States aged 45-64 declined by 22% from 1999 to 2011, but then increased 4% from 2011 to 2017.

The new study also found women had higher rates of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure than men. Rates for those three risk factors rose among both men and women throughout the study.

"That's quite concerning, and it might provide insight into why we're not seeing any improvements in rates of heart disease among younger adults," said Brunham, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia and a physician at the Healthy Heart Program's prevention clinic at St. Paul's Hospital.

Women under 45 also had "significantly higher" rates of death than men.

"One important takeaway of our study for providers is that a woman who's developed heart disease at a young age needs to be treated very aggressively," said Dr. Simon Pimstone, co-senior author of the study. "We're not as good at diagnosing coronary disease in women, who often present differently than men. We still have a lot to learn."

Pimstone and Brunham are leading a program called (Study to Avoid cardioVascular Events in BC) that uses family-based genetic screening to help identify and treat people at high risk for premature heart disease.

Their research comes in the wake of a similar American study published last November in Circulation that showed heart attacks are on the rise in young people, especially women.

Dr. Sameer Arora, lead author of that paper, said it was difficult to compare the two studies because Canada's universal health care system might be better at preventing heart disease in patients.

Still, he said results of the new work confirm the idea that doctors and researchers need to come up with better ways to fight heart disease in younger adults.

"It's an impressive study that shows how important it is for us to reassess the risks and say, 'Maybe 45 is not 45 anymore,'" said Arora, a cardiology fellow at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

"Preventative care for heart disease for older populations has not carried over to the younger population, but we don't know why," he said. "We need to answer that question."

Arora said he'd like to see an increased emphasis on patient education.

"It's more about getting people to see a physician sooner, getting their cholesterol checked earlier, and focusing more on exercising and eating healthier foods," Arora said. "We need to get people to stop thinking, 'Oh, I'm too young to get heart disease.'"

If you have questions or comments about this story, please email [email protected].


ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News Stories

ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News covers heart disease, stroke and related health issues. Not all views expressed in ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News stories reflect the official position of the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥. Statements, conclusions, accuracy and reliability of studies published in ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ scientific journals or presented at ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥â€™s official guidance, policies or positions.

Copyright is owned or held by the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥., and all rights are reserved. Permission is granted, at no cost and without need for further request, for individuals, media outlets, and non-commercial education and awareness efforts to link to, quote, excerpt from or reprint these stories in any medium as long as no text is altered and proper attribution is made to ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News.

Other uses, including educational products or services sold for profit, must comply with the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥â€™s Copyright Permission Guidelines. See full terms of use. These stories may not be used to promote or endorse a commercial product or service.

HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately.