When people think about heart attacks, they often picture older adults. But a new study from Yale University shows that younger adults—especially those under 55—can also be at risk. More importantly, the risk factors for heart attacks aren’t the same for men and women.
The research, led by Yuan Lu and published in JAMA Network Open, looked at 2,264 people who had experienced a heart attack and compared them with the same number of people who hadn’t. The researchers wanted to see which factors made younger adults more likely to have a heart attack—and whether those factors were different for men and women.
What they found was striking. Some risk factors were more dangerous for women than for men, especially in younger age groups.
For women, the top risk factor was diabetes. This condition was strongly linked to heart attacks in women under 55, more so than in men of the same age. Smoking, high blood pressure, and depression also stood out as major contributors for women. Other key risks included having a family history of heart attacks, high cholesterol, and low income.
In fact, poverty appeared to play a big role in heart attack risk for women. This shows that financial stress and limited access to healthcare can directly affect heart health. Mental health also mattered—depression was much more strongly linked to heart attacks in women than in men.
For men, smoking and family history were the biggest risks. While high blood pressure and cholesterol also increased heart attack risk in men, they didn’t have the same level of impact as they did for women. Mental health and income were less influential for men in this study.
Altogether, the seven main risk factors—diabetes, smoking, depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, low income, and family history—accounted for about 84% of heart attack risk in young women and 85% in young men. But the way these factors influenced each gender was quite different.
These findings are important because they suggest we need to think differently about how to prevent heart attacks in younger adults. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. Women and men face different challenges, and these must be addressed in specific ways.
The researchers say that more awareness is needed, especially among young women. Programs like the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” campaign can help spread the word. These programs aim to educate women about their unique heart risks and encourage them to take action early.
Doctors also play a key role. By understanding how risk factors affect men and women differently, they can give better advice and care. This includes paying more attention to conditions like diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure in women, which may be overlooked in younger patients.
The study sends a clear message: gender matters when it comes to heart health. By looking closely at how risk factors vary between men and women, we can take smarter steps to prevent heart attacks and protect more lives—especially in younger adults who might not even realize they’re at risk.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that vitamin K helps cut heart disease risk by a third, and a year of exercise reversed worrisome heart failure.
For more health information, please see recent studies about supplements that could help prevent heart disease, stroke, and results showing this food ingredient may strongly increase heart disease death risk.
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