Heart disease cases have skyrocketed across the globe. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 19.8 million people died from cardiovascular disease (CVDs) in 2022, which is 32% of all global deaths. It also states that of the 18 million premature deaths (under the age of 70) that happened due to noncommunicable diseases in 2021, 38% were caused by CVDs. Hence, it is extremely crucial that you take measures that can help prevent these conditions.
Earlier, heart disease was considered to be a disease that was prevalent among the older generation. However, that has changed now and today, young adults in their 40s and 50s tend to suffer from the condition. There are several factors that increase your risks of heart disease, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and sedentary lifestyle among others. If detected at an early stage, heart disease can be managed and treated.
A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Monday said that a new online heart risk calculator can help young adults understand if they have a high risk of developing heart disease, and this would be as much as 30 years in the future.
The current risk calculators such as Framingham risk calculator or the ASCVD Risk Estimator Plus, can measure a 10-year risk for people ages 40 and older. The study was conducted by a team of researchers at Northwestern University.
For the study, the team analysed data between 2011 and 2020 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This is a nationally representative survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They studied data from nearly 8,700 U.S. adults aged 30 to 59 who were free of cardiovascular disease when they entered the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study titled, "Age and Sex-Specific Percentiles of 30-Year Cardiovascular Disease Risk Based on the PREVENT Equations", calculated each person's risk of developing a heart attack, heart failure or stroke over the next 30 years.
Researchers found that men have a higher long-term risk than women at every age, with a median 16% risk for men versus 10% for women at age 45. Sadiya Khan, the Magerstadt Professor of Cardiovascular Epidemiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and senior study author, pointed out that "risk for heart disease for women catches up with time. This is why having sex-specific tools like this percentile calculator is important."
The researchers also added other health markers, like blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, smoking status, diabetes history and kidney function. Following this, the calculator displays a person's percentile rank among 100 peers of the same age and sex.
Khan said, "This tool was motivated by helping younger adults understand their long-term risk for heart disease. We all procrastinate, but prioritizing health has to start today - and can with this tool."
There are several factors that increase the risks of heart disease, which includes, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity, as well as family history.
Dr. Manesh Patel, chief of the division of cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine, said, "Younger people these days have more cardiovascular risk or conditions than they did in the past."
Dr. Deepak Bhatt, director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital in New York, who was not part of the study, sees potential in knowing long-term risk of heart disease, "especially for younger people who are served poorly by current risk scores."
Bhatt added, "To tell someone they have an 8.9% risk is difficult to interpret in isolation - but to say to a patient that their cardiac risk is higher than 90% of people their age and sex is easy to understand - clearly, that is someone at very high risk."
Patel recommended that age could be the biggest driving factor for heart disease, however, younger people should start protecting against it earlier. He suggested, "Think of your heart risk like your retirement. For every five minutes of exercise you're doing now, you can get the benefit when you really want it - like when you're 60 and you want to chase your grandkids."
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
