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A buildup of artery-clogging plaque can begin much earlier than many people realize, new research has found.
About 1 in 13 adults aged 18 to 29 already had silent atherosclerosis — the hardening of the arteries from plaque — despite no known cardiovascular disease, while more than half of all healthy adults in the study showed signs of plaque somewhere in their arteries, according to a major new international study.
Researchers from Denmark and Spain used advanced imaging to examine more than 16,800 adults aged 18 to 70 without known cardiovascular disease. They found plaque in 57.1% of participants, with prevalence increasing steadily with age, from about 1 in 13 adults under 30 to about 9 in 10 adults aged 60 to 70, according to research published in The New England Journal of Medicine in August.
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Atherosclerosis occurs when fatty deposits, cholesterol and other substances build up in arteries, according to experts. The process often develops silently over many years before causing a heart attack or stroke.
A new study has found signs of silent artery plaque in some healthy young adults without known cardiovascular disease. (iStock)
“For decades we have estimated cardiovascular risk with factors such as age, blood pressure and cholesterol,” said Dr. Borja Ibáñez, a cardiologist and scientific director of Spain’s National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), in a statement. “This study shows that we can now go one step further and detect the disease immediately before it causes a heart attack or stroke.”
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The new findings come from the first phase of the ongoing international REACT study, which maps how common arterial plaque is throughout adulthood. In the next phase, researchers will test whether earlier detection can improve heart disease prevention.
Researchers are studying whether early detection of arterial plaques can improve heart disease prevention. (iStock)
“Until now, preventive decisions were based on an estimate of risk, but we didn’t know if the disease was already present,” said Professor Henning Bundgaard, professor of cardiology at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. “REACT shows that atherosclerosis can be detected decades before clinical manifestations appear and provides the most comprehensive atlas of the evolution of the disease in adult life.”
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The study also revealed that men tend to develop plaque five to 10 years earlier than women, while women experienced their steepest increase between ages 40 and 60.
Knowing your blood pressure, cholesterol and other heart health risk factors can help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, experts say. (iStock)
The researchers also found that commonly used cardiovascular risk scores identified only a small proportion of people who already had silent atherosclerosis, suggesting that some cases may go undetected using traditional risk assessments alone.
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While the researchers believe portable ultrasound could eventually help identify hidden plaque earlier, they said further clinical studies are needed.
The results should encourage people to take heart health seriously, but not to panic, experts note.
Researchers say that prevention of heart disease should start early, even before symptoms appear. (iStock)
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“Finding the plaque doesn’t mean someone is going to have a heart attack, but finding it gives us an opportunity to address a patient’s risk factors,” said Dr. Sirisha Vadali, cardiologist at HonorHealth Women’s Heart Health in Arizona, Fox News Digital. “We shouldn’t wait for symptoms to pay attention to heart health.”
“Feeling healthy doesn’t necessarily mean your arteries are free of plaque,” added Vadali, who was not involved in the research.
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She cautioned that the study alone does not establish that screening will directly prevent heart attacks or strokes in everyone.
Healthy lifestyle habits — including avoiding tobacco, staying active and eating a nutritious diet — can help protect heart health, experts say. (iStock)
Vadali emphasized that the results do not mean that everyone under the age of 30 should have an artery screening, and said that decisions about additional testing should be based on a person’s individual risk factors. She recommended avoiding tobacco, staying physically active and eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts and fish, while limiting saturated fat and excess sodium to protect heart health.
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Fox News Digital has contacted the researchers for comment.
