Young Americans at High Risk for Heart Disease

A new study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic researchers warned that younger Americans are at a higher risk of having heart disease, mainly due to obesity, blood pressure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The study found that the number of heart attack patients has increased steadily in the United States since 1995, and the people are having the disease at a younger age. The researchers found that the average age of patients that suffer from heart attack has come down from 64 years to 60 years within the past two decades.

Many would-be sufferers knew the risk factors for heart attacks but are reported to just ignore them. The prevalence of obesity, a major cause of heart diseases, has also reportedly gone up from 31 percent to 40 percent. It was further revealed that the attention given to preventive cardiology and healthy lifestyle is not helping to push ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) later in life to sicker patients.

The alarming facts were presented at the event of 65th Annual Scientific Session of American College of Cardiology. Lead researcher of the study, Dr. Samir Kapadia said, "Very amazingly, what we found was the patients presenting with STEMI were getting younger." Kapadia further stresses the importance of prevention saying that it should be at the "forefront of primary care".

The new study had analyzed heart disease risk factors of 3,900 patients who were treated for STEMI - the most severe type of heart attack - at Cleveland Clinic between 1995 and 2014.

A report published in CBS News further elaborates saying: "This type of heart attack occurs when the coronary artery is completely blocked and a large part of the heart muscle is unable to receive blood. Though immediate medical assistance can increase the chance of survival, STEMI heart attacks come with a high risk of death and disability."