Why heart diseases are rising among young people

2 March, 2008

Despite improvement in methods of diagnosis and treatment, heart diseases among young adults continue to show an upward trend thanks mainly to two factors: sedentary lifestyle and smoking.

Recent studies have found that, between 1993 and 2003, the largest relative rise in obesity occurred in adults under 45. At the same time, cholesterol levels changed little or even increased among the younger age groups.

Of the various studies conducted in different countries – especially in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia – one of the most startling findings was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology by Simon Capewell, an expert on heart disease statistics and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Liverpool, the United Kingdom, and Earl Ford, of the United States Public Health Service.

The good news is that there has been a drop in smoking, which is a key risk factor for heart disease. However, a quarter of adults still smoke.

According to the experts, any change in the trend is often seen soonest in the younger people. Since the younger age group suffers relatively few heart attacks or deaths, it makes little impact on overall figures. However, once the younger people get older, the risk of death from heart disease increases.

The study done by Simon Capewell and Earl Ford show that, in the United States, deaths from heart disease among women aged 35 to 54 declined by 5.4% a year in the 1980s, and by 1.2% a year in the 1990s. However, the figure rose by 1.5% a year between 1997 and 2002.

Dr Earl Ford wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology,“Young adults should take stock of their lifestyles. If you are smoking, you should quit. If you are doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity a day, it is time to find ways to be more active.”

Official statistics say that coronary heart disease claimed 101,000 lives in the United Kingdom in 2005 – 56,000 men and 45,000 women. And, coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death below the age of 75.

In the UK, the death rates for men aged 35-44 have fallen drastically to about 40% of the rate in 1968. The same is the case with women. However, the fall in death rates due to coronary heart disease has now stalled, say studies.