Under 50 years of age increasing: unbalanced diet, smoke and alcohol between the causes. Here’s how to prevent

The numbers are clear: in the United States the percentage of adults among the 18 and 44 years affected by myocardial infarction it increased from 0.3% in 2019 to 0.5% in 2023, with an increase in the 66% In just four years – while the rates decreased in the older bands thanks to the most effective prevention and treatments, in young people – as a recent in -depth analysis of the National Geographic – The trend is reverse.

Habits that damage the heart

Behind the surge there are widespread but risky habits: unbalanced diet, sedentary life, smoke, alcoholand consumption of substances such as marijuana And cocaine. They are all factors that favor the development of hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes And obesityfour conditions that in turn drastically increase the risk of Cardiovascular diseases.

According to experts, many young adults show Plurime Conditions at risk Already at an early age, often without realizing it, also because these pathologies can remain silent for years before manifesting themselves with an acute event and in many cases fatal such as heart attack.

The role of pandemic

An important impact also had the COVID-19. Yes, we thought we have removed it and instead it is still making us pay a rather salty account. A study of 2022, for example, detected an increase in 14% of the deceased per heart attack in the first year of the pandemic, with the highest peak among the 25 and 44 years.

The virus can cause inflammation systemic and increase the blood clottingtwo mechanisms that favor the formation of trombers and therefore the occlusion of the coronary arteries. In addition, the pandemics accepted problems related to stressat the depression and tophysical inactivityfurther aggravating the general picture and the intake of bad habits.

Heart attack: how to recognize symptoms and how to intervene

Pain in the chest and left arm are the best known symptoms but they are not the only ones. An expert helped us understand what are the signals not to be underestimated to identify a myocardial infarction and intervene promptly

Women more at risk, but less considered

Although we often think of the infarction as a male disease, the data tell a different reality. A study Published in 2018 he found that, between 1995 and 2014, the Hospitalizations for heart attack In women between 35 and 54 years of age they climbed from 21% to 31%.

Young women, however, tend to receive more late diagnosisless aggressive treatments and face a greater risk of complications such as heart failure in the following five years. Also, many of their symptoms – such as nausea, fatigue or neck pain – They are often underestimated, both by those who live them and by those who have to cure them.

A problem of perception

A survey conducted two years ago highlighted that the 47% of young people under 45 It is not considered at risk of heart disease. This underestimation is naturally very dangerous, because it leads to neglecting fundamental checks such as the blood pressure measurementThe Cholesterol monitoring and theblood sugar examinationassociated with older population bands.

Many also do not know their own family history of cardiovascular diseases, another key element in evaluating individual risk.

“Young people are not immune from cardiac arrest or infarction, yet many think that this is still a disease that affects the elderly – he explained to Natgeo Ron Blankstein, Senior cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Medicine Professor at the Harvard Medical School in Boston – but the really important thing that young people know is that cardiovascular diseases, in most cases, can be prevented by adopting the right precautions “.

How to protect your heart

Shot of Athletic Woman Eating in Healthy Bowl of Muesli with Fruit Sitting on Floor in the Kitchen at Homenensuria

The good news is that many of the causes are modifiable. Adopting a healthy lifestyle – balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, renunciation of smoking and attention to psychological well -being, in the end the central aspects are always the same – can drastically reduce the risk. Also small changesif maintained over time, make the difference.

It is equally important to promote greater health education Among young people and make prevention controls more accessible, perhaps starting from schools and workplaces. The heart attack is no longer a “elderly” disease. The data show a clear change of trend and impose a new awareness, especially among young people. The heart must be protected every day, with informed choices and active lifestyles.