#26: Younger Folks Are Suffering Heart Attacks These Days. Why?
For a time, heart attacks were often experienced by folks aged 60 and beyond. Bad news: that age has come down. Substantially.
Just last July, I found myself sitting at the funeral of an ex-colleague and friend who succumbed to a heart attack. She was 51 years old, and was one of the nicest people I had ever met.
Her case was not a standout one. The number of persons suffering heart attacks at ages 55 and younger - especially women - has risen to unprecedented levels.
The answers came by way of a new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers analysed data from 2,264 people aged between 18 and 55 - all of whom were hospitalised after having suffered a heart attack. They compared this data with another 2,264 persons (matched by age, sex and race) in order to have a control group.
In doing so, said researchers identified seven factors accounting for 85% of the risk for heart attack in both genders:
Diabetes
Depression
High Blood Pressure
Current Smoking
Family History of an Early Heart Attack
Low Household Income
High Cholesterol
Of all the seven, diabetes was linked to the greatest risk among women, while ‘current smoking’ was the largest in men.
In the US, Approximately 800 000 people are hospitalised after having suffered a heart attack each year. A third are younger than 55 years. In Malta, heart disease remains the leading cause of death.
The age adjusted death rate, from heart disease in Malta, stood at 74.77 per 100,000 (in 2020).
Interestingly, the seven factors accounting for up to 85% of the risk of heart disease are largely modifiable.
All disease is a culmination of the food we eat, the exercise we get, the sleep we get, the thoughts we think, the toxins we absorb, the stress we experience, the anger we keep and the unforgiveness we hold.
By how much can our risk be reduced if we focus on small, sustainable lifestyle changes?
