How Common Are Heart Attacks In Your 20s

Why Have Heart Attacks Become Prevalent In Young People

Heart attack is a concerning problem. But there is something more worrisome: heart attacks are becoming more common among young adults under the age of 40, particularly those in their twenties and thirties. Earlier people above the age of 40 were considered to have the biggest risk of heart attacks, but these days the problem is typically affecting those in the age group of 20-30 years.

As we move ahead in the blog, itll educate about heart attack, its causes, and develop a long-term plan to prevent heart attack at an early age.

Heart Attacks Are Becoming More Common In Younger People Especially Women

Please note: This article was published more than two years ago, so some information may be outdated. If you have questions about your health, always contact a health care professional.

Heart attacks once characterized as a part of “old man’s disease” are increasingly occurring in younger people, especially women, according to new research.

The study presented Sunday at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions meeting in Chicago and published in the AHA journal Circulation, sought to investigate heart attacks in the young, a group frequently overlooked in cardiovascular research.

Past research has shown heart attack rates in the U.S. have declined in recent decades among 35- to 74-year-olds. But for the new study, researchers wanted to look specifically at how many younger people were having heart attacks.

They included data from a multi-state study of more than 28,000 people hospitalized for heart attacks from 1995 to 2014. The results showed 30 percent of those patients were young, age 35 to 54.

More importantly, they found the people having heart attacks were increasingly young, from 27 percent at the start of the study to 32 percent at the end.

“Women were not managed the same way as men, and that could be for a combination of reasons,” said Arora, a cardiology fellow at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Piña and Arora both said they would like to see women better represented in future studies on heart disease.

Signs And Symptoms Of A Heart Attack In Women

Heart attack symptoms can vary from person to person but the most common signs of a heart attack are:

• chest pain or discomfort in your chest that suddenly occurs and doesn’t go away. It may feel like pressure, tightness or squeezing
• the pain may spread to your left or right arm or may spread to your neck, jaw, back or stomach
• you may also feel sick, sweaty, light-headed or short of breath.

Other less common symptoms include:

• a sudden feeling of anxiety that can feel similar to a panic attack
• excessive coughing or wheezing

If you think you’re having a heart attack, call 999 for an ambulance immediately.

Women may be less likely to seek medical attention and treatment quickly, despite the warning signs. This can dramatically reduce your chance of survival. Rapid treatment is essential, and the aim is to restore blood flow to the affected part of the heart muscle as soon as possible. This helps to limit the amount of damage to the heart.

• Learn more about heart attack symptoms.

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Calculate Your Risk Of Developing Heart Disease

The Australian Cardiovascular Disease Risk Calculatorhelps healthcare professionalscalculate a persons risk of developing CVD in the nextfiveyears. It was developed in association with the 2012 Absolute CVD RiskGuidelines.

You can read more about the Absolute CVD Risk Guidelines on the Heart Foundation website here. You can also find additional tools and information on the website to help you identify if you are at risk of heart disease.

If youre concerned about your heart , or youre due for a heart health check, make an appointment to see your GP.

Warning Signs Of A Heart Disease In Early 30’s

Pooja Kaushal

What was once considered an old-age disease is now striking many people at a rather young age. Heart diseases are becoming more than just common these days. At what age it may hit a person has become very unpredictable.

A person who may seem to be very healthy and fit can one day suffer from a heart disease. The reasons of this rise in heart ailments can be many. Exercising every day and leading an active life are not enough.

There are hidden factors lying dormant that may surface. There are several warning signs of heart diseases in early 30s, which may help prevent an unwanted situation later on in life.

Thirties is the time when one is finally settling down and moving into a stable life. Family has to be taken care of and provided for. Children become a huge responsibility, and their upbringing becomes one major goal in our life.

In such times, if there is a heart ailment, life can be thrown out of gear. A possible heart problem can be detected if one keeps close observation of oneself. These signs of heart diseases in the early 30s come as a silent warning, which should not be overlooked.

These are very subtle signs, but are worth paying some attention to, especially if the disease runs in your family.

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Symptoms Of A Heart Attack

Symptoms of a heart attack can include:

• chest pain a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest
• pain in other parts of the body it can feel as if the pain is spreading from your chest to your arms , jaw, neck, back and tummy
• feeling lightheaded or dizzy
• feeling sick or being sick
• an overwhelming feeling of anxiety
• coughing or wheezing

The chest pain is often severe, but some people may only experience minor pain, similar to indigestion.

While the most common symptom in both men and women is chest pain, women are more likely to have other symptoms such as shortness of breath, feeling or being sick and back or jaw pain.

Substance Abuse Takes A Toll On Your Heart

The experts are still studying the effect of marijuana on your heart, but they know that it boosts your heart rate and raises your risk of having a heart attack. Cocaines impact on your heart, however, is well established. Cocaine increases your heart rate, tightens your blood vessels, and raises your blood pressure, all of which are associated with heart attacks.

Many heart attacks are preventable because you can change your risk factors by making lifestyle changes and taking medications if needed to protect your health. You can get all the support you need to prevent a heart attack at the Cardio Metabolic Institute.

We have a team of cardiologists, weight management experts, and physical therapists ready to provide holistic health care that addresses all your cardiovascular risk factors regardless of your age. To get started on the road to a long, healthy life, call or book an appointment online.

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Heart Attack Risk Factors For Women

There are several factors that increase your chance of developing heartdisease. Almost 50% of all Americans have at least one of three major riskfactors for the condition:

• High blood pressure: Women can develop high blood pressure as a side effect of birth control pills or during pregnancy. All women over 65 are more likely than men are to have high blood pressure.
• High cholesterol: Estrogen seems to protect women against unhealthy levels of cholesterol. But after menopause, estrogen levels drop and high cholesterol becomes more likely.
• Smoking: Although men are slightly more likely to smoke, the gap in cigarette usage between genders is smaller than ever and women are less likely to be able to quit successfully.

Additional risk factors include:

• Excessive alcohol use

What Happens During A Heart Health Check

During the check-up, your GP will ask you about your lifestyle, medical history, and any family history of heart disease. Theyll also check your blood pressure.

Youll then have blood tests to check your cholesterol, blood sugar, and kidney function.

If necessary, your GP will help you work out a plan to reduce your risk of having a heart attack and may refer you to a cardiologist.

If you have signs that need further investigation, your doctor may order an ECG, an ultrasound of your heart , or a CT scan of the arteries. These procedures will help to show how much plaque is inside the arteries.

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Do Women Have As Many Heart Attacks As Men

Coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer in the UK every year, and it was the single biggest killer of women worldwide in 2019. Despite this, its often considered a mans disease.There are more than 800,000 women in the UK living with CHD, which is the main cause of heart attacks.

Each year more than 30,000 women are admitted to hospital in the UK due to a heart attack.

At Risk: Heart Disease Affecting More People In Their 20s And 30s

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Jerey McKinney, 35, plays with her 1-year-old daughter, Kendall, in their Normal home on Aug. 30. McKinney, who suffered a heart attack because of spontaneous coronary artery dissection one week into her pregnancy and a second heart attack six days after Kendall was born, appreciates her second chance at life.

NORMAL The face of heart disease used to be your father. Now its your adult children.

Its not an old mans disease anymore, said Dr. Siddharth Gandhi, an interventional cardiologist at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center.

Heart disease affects men and women and now, unfortunately, at younger ages, Gandhi said.

A generation ago, heart disease affected mostly men in their 50s and 60s. Now, its affecting more women and men in their 20s and 30s.

In the past three to four years, Ive done interventions for people as young as 28, Gandhi said. Heart disease in young adults has become a significant concern, he said.

One reason is because of growing obesity in young adults.

That provides the fertilizer for developing diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, he said. Those diseases along with smoking greatly increase the risk of developing heart disease, he said.

These processes used to affect people in their 60s but now its affecting people at a younger age, he said.

Adding to the danger is that most young adults dont realize theyre at risk of a heart attack.

They think theyre invincible, Gandhi said.

McLean County Heart Walk & 5K Run

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Rolanda Perkins 50 Had A Heart Attack At Age 39

There were a lot of things on my mind in the week leading up to my heart attack, but my symptoms weren’t exactly one of them. At the time, I was under a lot of stress. I was working the midnight shift at my job at a child-abuse hotline, while also planning a huge surprise party for my sister. I wasn’t sleeping well, and I internalized a lot of that pressure.

A week before the party, I started coming down with really bad headaches. I self-medicated with Excedrin and I brushed it off as a migraine. I figured that I was just tired, and it would go away after everything calmed down.

I had a heart attack the day after the party, on a Sunday. I was mopping the floor when, all of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I’d never felt anything like that before. I thought maybe it was intense indigestion. And I remember thinking, “I’ll go to bed and deal with it tomorrow.” That didn’t happen. The pain was so bad that it woke me up at around 3:30 in the morning, and a friend drove me to the hospital. When I got there, the tests showed that I was having a heart attack, and the doctors performed an angioplastya procedure in which a small tube is inserted into the artery to help prop it open.

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Symptoms Of Heart Attack

Below listed are the symptoms associated with a heart attack:

• Pain or building up pressure in your chest or arms, tightness, or a squeezing or hurting sensation that may move to your neck, jaw, or back.
• Nausea, indigestion, heartburn, or abdominal pain
• Breathing problems
• Sudden dizziness or lightheadedness

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Youngest Heart Attack Survivors Have Same Likelihood Of Dying As Survivors 10+ Years Older Substance Abuse May Be Contributing To Trend

Date:

American College of Cardiology

Summary:

Even though fewer heart attacks are occurring in the US — in large part due to the use of medications like statins and a decline in smoking — these events are steadily rising in very young adults. New data not only validate this trend but also reveal that more heart attacks are striking those under age 40.

Even though fewer heart attacks are occurring in the U.S. — in large part due to the use of medications like statins and a decline in smoking — these events are steadily rising in very young adults. New data not only validate this trend but also reveal that more heart attacks are striking those under age 40, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 68th Annual Scientific Session.

The study, which is the first to compare young to very young heart attack survivors, found that among patients who suffer a heart attack at a young age overall, 1 in 5 is 40 or younger. Moreover, during the 16-year study period , the proportion of very young people having a heart attack has been increasing, rising by 2 percent each year for the last 10 years.

Also, despite being 10 years younger on average than those having heart attacks in their 40s, very young patients have the same rate of adverse outcomes, including dying from another heart attack, stroke or any other reason.

Young heart attack victims who also have diabetes fare much worse

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How Does Heart Disease Affect Women

Despite increases in awareness over the past decades, only about half of women recognize that heart disease is their number 1 killer.1

Learn more facts about women and heart disease:

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, killing 314,186 women in 2020or about 1 in every 5 female deaths.2
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for African American and white women in the United States. Among American Indian and Alaska Native women, heart disease and cancer cause roughly the same number of deaths each year. For Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander women, heart disease is second only to cancer as a cause of death.3
• About 1 in 16 women age 20 and older have coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease:4
• About 1 in 16 white women , black women , and Hispanic women
• About 1 in 30 Asian women

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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.

What You Can Do Now To Prevent An Early Heart Attack

Although some risk factors are beyond your control, there are many thingsyou can do to protect your heart health. It’s estimated that 80% of heartdisease, including heart attacks and strokes, can be prevented throughlifestyle changes, such as:

• Maintaining a healthy weight: Being overweight or obese increases your heart disease risk. Get tips on how to watch your weight.
• Eating a heart-healthy diet: Avoid processed foods and excess sugar. Eat a diet rich in whole, nutritious foods .
• Exercising regularly: A consistent workout routine can boost your heart health. Aim for at least 150 minutes per week. Learn the kinds of exercise that can boost heart health.

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Let’s Win This Together

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. Support the innovative research, education and prevention services that protect the women we love.

Although men and women can experience chest pressure that feels like an elephant sitting across the chest, women can experience a heart attack without chest pressure, said Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director for the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYUs Langone Medical Center and an American Heart Association volunteer. Instead they may experience shortness of breath, pressure or pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen, dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting, upper back pressure or extreme fatigue.

Even when the signs are subtle, the consequences can be deadly, especially if the victim doesnt get help right away.

Do Hormones Affect Your Risk Of A Heart Attack

Many women use prescription hormone drugs for birth control or for reducingsymptoms of menopause . Could thesedrugs jeopardize your heart health?

“Birth control pills can increase your risk of having a blood clot, eitherin the heart or in the legs, and they can also raise your blood pressure.So, if you have a history of high blood pressure or clotting problems,other types of contraception might be a better fit for you,” says Colliver.”But for most young women, it’s safe to take birth control medication.”

Colliver notes that women over the age of 50 are at an increased risk forheart disease and should completely avoid estrogen and progesterone drugs,if possible. “If your overall risk of heart attack is extremely low and youdesperately need relief from hot flashes and other postmenopausal symptoms,then hormone replacement therapy may be fine for you,” says Colliver. “Butafter the age of 65, we really try to avoid using them at all because theydo increase the risk of heart disease and potentially breast cancer.”

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