Heart Attacks In Teens

Diabetes Is A Key Risk Factor For An Early Heart Attack

If you have diabetes, youre 2-4 times more likely to die from heart disease compared with adults who dont have diabetes. The problem develops when your blood sugar isnt controlled well enough to keep it within a healthy range. High blood sugar damages your blood vessels, which increases the chance of fats building up in your arteries and causing atherosclerosis.

Patients with diabetes are also more likely to have other chronic health diseases that significantly increase the risk of a heart attack, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Causes Of A Heart Attack

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of heart attacks.

CHD is a condition in which the major blood vessels that supply the heart get clogged with deposits of cholesterol, known as plaques.

Before a heart attack, 1 of the plaques bursts , causing a blood clot to develop at the site of the rupture.

The clot may block the supply of blood to the heart, triggering a heart attack.

Why Choose Lurie Childrens For Your Childs Heart Care

If you need to have your child evaluated for a possible heart condition, you can trust Lurie Childrens to be your partner in the journey. Were known for having:

• Nationally ranked pediatric heart program: Were a top-ranked pediatric heart center by U.S.News & World Report. We treat all heart conditions, including the most complex.
• Advanced diagnostic technology: Our cardiac imaging specialists use the latest imaging technology to spot those heart conditions which can be difficult to diagnose.
• Dedicated cardiac team: The cardiac specialists, surgeons and psychologists on our treatment team work to make sure children and families have exactly what they need to thrive.
• Genetic screening expertise: Diagnosing cardiac diseases via genetic screening is complicated. We excel in this area, including a strong partnership with the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Since many heart conditions linked to sudden cardiac arrest run in families, affiliation with an adult center matters.
• Advocacy that saves childrens lives: We have a leadership role in theCitizen CPR Foundation. Were building more HEARTSafe Communities by training citizens on CPR and advocating for more public access to AEDs

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About Half Of All Heart Attacks Are Mistaken For Less Serious Problems And Can Increase Your Risk Of Dying From Coronary Artery Disease

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You can have a heart attack and not even know it. A silent heart attack, known as a silent myocardial infarction , account for 45% of heart attacks and strike men more than women.

They are described as “silent” because when they occur, their symptoms lack the intensity of a classic heart attack, such as extreme chest pain and pressure stabbing pain in the arm, neck, or jaw sudden shortness of breath sweating, and dizziness.

“SMI symptoms can feel so mild, and be so brief, they often get confused for regular discomfort or another less serious problem, and thus men ignore them,” says Dr. Jorge Plutzky, director of the vascular disease prevention program at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

For instance, men may feel fatigue or physical discomfort and chalk it up to overwork, poor sleep, or some general age-related ache or pain. Other typical symptoms like mild pain in the throat or chest can be confused with gastric reflux, indigestion, and heartburn.

Also, the location of pain is sometimes misunderstood. With SMI, you may feel discomfort in the center of the chest and not a sharp pain on the left side of the chest, which many people associate with a heart attack. “People can even feel completely normal during an SMI and afterward, too, which further adds to the chance of missing the warning signs,” says Dr. Plutzky.

Smoking Cigarettes And Vaping Are Major Risk Factors For A Heart Attack

Of all the things that contribute to heart attacks in young adults, smoking cigarettes is one of the top risk factors. Your risk of a heart attack increases in direct proportion to the number of cigarettes you smoke. Smoking one pack a day more than doubles your risk for a heart attack compared with nonsmokers.

While cigarette smoking has a much higher chance of causing a heart attack compared with vaping, youre still not off the hook if you vape. E-cigarettes contain nicotine and other toxic compounds that accelerate your heart rate and raise your blood pressure. A recent study found that vaping made you 34% more likely to have a heart attack compared with non-vapers.

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Teen Years A Time To Prevent Diabetes Heart Attack

About 1 in 5 teenagers in the United States has obesity.

That is, they have a body mass index score a measure of body fat based on height and weight and accounting for age and sex that is higher than 95% of other teenagers of the same age, sex, and height.

The researchers tracked 12,300 teenagers who were part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

They determined the BMIs of the teens when they were 11 to 18 years old in 1994 and 1995, and then looked at health outcomes when the teens were 33 to 43 years old in 2016 and 2018 .

About half of the teenagers were female, and about two-thirds were non-Hispanic white. They had a mean BMI of 22.5 kg/m2, which indicates obesity in teenagers but is a normal BMI in adults.

Having obesity as a teenager was linked to greater odds of having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, cancer, kidney disease, sleep apnea, and premature heart failure, but not stroke after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, smoking, and alcohol use.

Compared to a teenager without obesity, a teenager with obesity is 2.73 times more likely to develop diabetes, 2.19 times more likely to have a premature heart attack, and 1.57 times more likely to report poor adult health, Nagata says.

In general, teenagers who have a higher BMI are more likely in adulthood to have a higher BMI, and that is associated with these risks, he says.

Heart Attack Symptoms In Women

Although many people think heart attacks happen mostly to men, heartdisease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. So its justas important for women of every age torecognize heart attack signsand seek immediate medical attention.

For the vast majority of people men and women chest pain or discomfortis the primary symptom of a heart attack. However, women are more likelythan men are to have less recognizable heart attack symptoms, such as:

• Pain or discomfort in different parts of the upper body
• Shortness of breath

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Why Heart Attacks Among Young People Are On The Rise

The total number of heart attacks in the United States is lower than ever before but so is the age group its hitting hardest. Today, the elderly no longer hold a monopoly on cardiac arrest, as there are more heart attacks reported in young adults under the age of 40.

Multiple factors contribute to this trend, and understanding the causes can help you protect your health and prevent cardiovascular disease. Stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and a poor diet all lead to conditions that affect your heart health. At Advanced Cardiac Care located in the Ozone Park area of Queens, New York, we specialize in assessing your risk and developing a long-range plan to help you beat the statistics and prevent a heart attack.

Signs Of Heart Problems You May Have Missed

Regardless of age, persistent breathing difficulty is an often-overlooked sign of a potential pediatric heart condition. This is because most people associate breathing problems with respiratory issues rather than something heart related. If your child is having consistent trouble breathing or has been diagnosed with a respiratory condition that’s not responding to treatment, a consultation and screening with a pediatric cardiologist could be a beneficial next step.

If you suspect your child may have an underlying heart condition, discuss this openly with your child’s pediatrician. Have the pediatrician assess your child to help determine what your next move should be. This could include screening tests, a few lifestyle changes or referral to a pediatric cardiologist.

The goal has shifted from not just the identification of the problem, but to optimizing the health of a child from the beginning so that they can lead as healthy and active a life as possible, says Dr. Iannucci.

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Pediatric Cardiology Center Of Oregon

So, yes, kids and teens can get heart disease and have heart attacks, although its very rare and often a result of congenital heart defects. Still, young people in otherwise good health can start on the road to poor heart health without proper guidance.

As adults, its our responsibility to make sure that we look out for the health and wellbeing of young people. They are, after all, the future. We should be instilling the values of physical activity and a quality diet from the earliest stages of their development.

Children learn from their parents, so its also a good idea to take care of yourself for your own health and that of your child.

At the Pediatric Cardiology Center of Oregon , we provide full-service pediatric cardiology care. Our partnership with Legacy Emanuel Medical Center and the Randall Childrens Hospital positions us at the center of a number of heart-related practices: cardiac imaging, catheter interventions, electrophysiology, and more.

PCCOs focus is on cardiovascular disease and heart health just as it has been since 1986. Our pediatric cardiologists have pioneered important advances in the treatment of congenital heart disease. Two examples: We performed the first Norwood surgical procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome in Oregon and the first arterial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries .

Depressed Or Anxious Teens Risk Heart Attacks In Middle Age

Date:

European Society of Cardiology

Summary:

Depression or anxiety in adolescence is linked with a 20% greater likelihood of having a heart attack mid-life, according to new research.

Depression or anxiety in adolescence is linked with a 20% greater likelihood of having a heart attack mid-life, according to research released today at ESC Congress 2020.1

In a warning to parents, study author Dr. Cecilia Bergh of Örebro University in Sweden, said: “Be vigilant and look for signs of stress, depression or anxiety that is beyond the normal teenage angst: seek help if there seems to be a persistent problem . If a healthy lifestyle is encouraged as early as possible in childhood and adolescence it is more likely to persist into adulthood and improve long-term health.”

There are indications that mental well-being is declining in young people. This study investigated whether conditions like depression in adolescence are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. The researchers also examined the possible role of stress resilience in helping to explain any associations.

The study included 238,013 men born between 1952 and 1956 who underwent extensive examinations in late adolescence and were then followed into middle age . The assessments at the age of 18 or 19 years included medical, psychiatric, and physical examinations by physicians and psychologists.

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Myths That Young People Do Not Get Heart Disease

There are many misconceptions and myths associated with heart disease. Some people believe that children and young adults do not have to worry about heart disease because they are too young to develop these issues. This is simply untrue as heart health issues, and even a heart attack, can occur at any age. People can begin to develop plaques in their arteries during childhood, and this has only been aggravated with the rise in childhood obesity. In the U.S. alone, the number of overweight children has doubled, and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled since 1980.

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How Is Heart Failure Treated In A Child

Treatment will depend on your childs symptoms, age, and general health. It will also depend on how severe the condition is.

If heart failure is caused by a congenital heart defect, correcting the defect may cure the heart failure. Medicines are often used to treat heart failure in children. They may include:

• Digoxin. This is a medicine that can help the heart beat stronger with a more regular rhythm.

• Water pills . These help the kidneys get rid of extra fluid that may build up in the body.

• ACE inhibitors. These medicines help open the blood vessels and lower blood pressure. This makes it easier for your child’s heart to pump blood to the body.

• Beta blockers. These help lower the heart rate and blood pressure. This also makes it easier for the heart to pump blood to the body.

Other treatments include:

• Pacemaker. Some children with heart failure need an artificial pacemaker. The pacemaker may help when the heart is not pumping well because of a slow heartbeat.

• Cardiac resynchronization therapy. This uses a special type of pacemaker. This treatment may be used in some children with long-term heart failure.

• Mechanical support devices. Children with severe heart failure may be helped with special devices and tools. Your child may use these while waiting for a heart transplant.

• Heart transplant. A healthy donor heart replaces your child’s diseased heart.

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Video Games May Trigger Rare Heart Attacks In Kids: Study

Oct. 12, 2022 — When 16-year-old Jake Gallagher died of a heart attack while playing video games, the U.K. teenâs death made international headlines. Many reports called the 2013 case a rare isolated incident, noting the teen had an underlying heart condition that put him at risk.

But new research suggests such cases are more common than you might think.

Australian scientists who reviewed nearly 70 studies and reports on cardiovascular risks from electronic gaming identified 22 children and teens who lost consciousness while playing video games and experienced heart rhythm problems and other cardiac complications.

Nineteen of the mostly male gamers, aged 7 to 16, experienced serious irregular heartbeats known as ventricular arrhythmia. Six had heart attacks, and four died suddenly. The researchers also found only 7 of the 22 had received a prior diagnosis of arrhythmia or other heart problems.

âVideo games may represent a serious risk to some children with arrhythmic conditions they might be lethal in patients with predisposing, but often previously unrecognized arrhythmic conditions,â notes lead investigator Claire M. Lawley, MBBS, PhD, with The Heart Centre for Children in Sydney, Australia, in a statement. âChildren who suddenly lose consciousness while electronic gaming should be assessed by a heart specialist as this could be the first sign of a serious heart problem.â

Among the researchersâ findings:

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What If Youre At Risk

Heart attacks can happen to anyone but the risk isespecially high when genetics come into play. Primordial and primary preventionis crucial for those with a family history of heart disease.

Your hereditary risk of heart disease is defined by having afirst-degree male relative under the age of55 with heart attack or stroke history, or a first-degree female relative under the age of 65 with heart attack orstroke history.

When were talking about young people having heart attacks,its important to individualize the discussion based on risk factors, says Dr.Laffin. Its about having an honest conversation and not pushing things offand saying Oh, Im too young, especially if you have symptoms.

Guidelines recommend that people ages 20 to 39 withouthereditary risk have their cardiovascular health assessed every four to six years.

For those that have a genetic risk, its critical to beengaged in your health and speak with your doctor early.

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Heart Attacks In Young Adults Are Related To Unhealthy Lifestyles Not Just Family History

Sophia Antipolis, France 24 Aug 2021: Young heart attack victims are more likely to be smokers, obese, and have high blood pressure or diabetes compared to their peers, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021.1 The study shows that while parental history of a premature heart attack is linked with heart events at a young age, it is not the only contributing factor.

The findings underline the importance of preventing smoking and overweight in children and adolescents in order to reduce the likelihood of heart disease later in life, said study author Professor Harm Wienbergen of the Bremen Institute for Heart and Circulation Research, Germany.

Understanding the reasons for heart attacks in young adults is important from a societal perspective due to their employment and family responsibilities, he continued. However, there are limited data on the predictors of heart events in this group.

The case-control study compared the clinical characteristics of consecutive patients admitted to hospital with acute myocardial infarction at 45 years of age or younger with randomly selected individuals from the general population in the same geographic region in Germany. Cases and controls were matched according to age and gender.

A total of 522 patients were enrolled from the Bremen STEMI registry and 1,191 matched controls were identified from the German National Cohort .

Teenagers Who Had Moderate Covid

As high school football players across South Carolina return to their playing fields this week, a cardiologist at MUSC Childrens Health is encouraging teenage athletes in any sport who had moderate COVID-19 to consider getting a heart evaluation.

COVID-19 can cause myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle. Its part of the bodys immune response to the illness caused by the coronavirus. Its considered a rare complication, but myocarditis has already shown up in some college football players who had COVID-19.

Lanier Jackson, M.D., is part of a team of pediatric cardiologists who wrote about myocarditis and COVID-19 in the journal of the American College of Cardiology. They noted that while there has been plenty of discussion about heart trouble in adults who had COVID-19, that wasnt the case when it came to kids. The pediatric cardiologists are especially concerned about children 13 and up because teenagers sports can get so physically intense.

Were trying to err on the side of being cautious but allowing kids to get back to physical activity, Jackson said. From our basic understanding of it, most kids should tolerate having COVID well without any long-term repercussions or manifestations from the disease process. But the potential for myocarditis needs to be brought to light.

We want to identify anybody at risk of having some kind of adverse event happen, Jackson said.

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