According to a study, your health before age 40 is linked to heart risks

A level of "bad" LDL cholesterol at 100 mg / dL or higher in a young adult was associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease by 64% later in life, said the study published in the Journal of Cancer. American College of Cardiology on Monday.

"The main focus of the study is that of young adults: do not wait to make healthy choices," said Dr. Andrew Moran, principal investigator of the Irving Medical Center at Columbia University in New York City. lead author of the study.

"Our results show that waiting until the average age or older to improve one's diet and physical exercise can not always reverse the cumulative damage done at the beginning of the year." ;adulthood."

"It was a new and striking discovery"

The study included data on blood pressure, cholesterol and cardiovascular health of 36,030 adults in the United States over an average of 17 years.

The data come from six different sources: the study on the risk of atherosclerosis in communities; cardiovascular risk study in young adults; the study on cardiovascular health; the offspring cohort of Framingham Heart Study; the study on health, aging and body composition; and the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

The researchers looked closely at the health of adults in the data collected between 18 and 39 years, then between 40 and over.

The researchers found that diastolic blood pressure and LDL "bad" cholesterol before the age of 40 were associated with episodes of coronary heart disease after the age of 40 and that they had been diagnosed. an increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure before age 40 was associated with heart failure events after 40 years.

"What was amazing, was seeing the strong association between high LDL cholesterol levels in young adults and events later in life – even after taking into account the cholesterol levels later in life. life, "said Moran.

"We were also surprised by the association of high blood pressure in young adults with heart failure later in life," he said. "It was a new and striking discovery because many heart failure events occur in old age."

The study had certain limitations, including the fact that only associations between blood pressure, cholesterol level and subsequent cardiovascular events were identified. More research is needed to determine a causal link.

Further research is also needed to determine if similar results could be obtained when comparing cardiovascular health in children and adults.

"Now that we have found these associations of risk factors among young adults with the risk of heart disease and stroke later in life, we ask ourselves the following question: what about he earlier in life, as in childhood and adolescence? We are intrigued by the period of childhood and early prevention opportunities in this country, "said Moran.

"The time has come to recognize that preventive interventions are too late"

In the editorial, they called on the medical community to "wake up" and recognize that prevention efforts are needed among young adults.

"Young adults, especially women and non-white people, have not been involved in the overall reduction of cardiovascular disease rates in recent decades and are less likely to receive care based on recommendations", wrote Gidding and Robinson in the editorial.

"The time has come to recognize that preventative interventions occur too late in life to have a substantial impact on the population's burden of" atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and heart failure, "they wrote. clinical trials in younger, higher-risk patients, with less advanced disease more likely to undergo a turnaround, and developing precision medicine strategies based on genetics, imaging and other conditions. other risk factors, the next era of cardiovascular disease prevention can begin. "