A new study shows that artery-clogging plaque begins to accumulate much sooner than many people realize. Approximately 1 in 13 adults between the ages of 18 and 29 carry silent atherosclerosis — the hardening of the arteries from plaque — even when they have not been diagnosed with any cardiovascular disease, according to a large international investigation published in The New England Journal of Medicine in August.
A team of investigators from Denmark and Spain employed sophisticated imaging techniques to scan over 16,800 grown-ups aged 18 to 70, none of whom had any previously detected cardiovascular disease. Plaque was found in 57.1% of the subjects, and its occurrence grew steadily with advancing years. Approximately 1 out of every 13 people below 30 showed signs of it, whereas roughly 9 out of every 10 individuals aged 60 to 70 bore it.
What the Study Found
Fatty deposits, cholesterol and other substances build up inside arteries to produce atherosclerosis, which can develop quietly for years before it causes a heart attack or stroke.
The REACT study, an international effort still underway, has released its initial phase, which tracks how widespread silent artery plaque is throughout adulthood. The second phase of the research will determine if spotting the condition sooner leads to better protection against heart disease.
“Until now, preventive decisions have been based on an estimate of risk, but we did not know whether the disease was already present,” Professor Henning Bundgaard, professor of cardiology at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, said. “REACT shows that atherosclerosis can be detected decades before clinical manifestations appear and provides the most comprehensive atlas of the evolution of the disease across adult life.”
Researchers discovered that male participants typically began showing signs of plaque five to 10 years before female participants did, with women seeing their sharpest rise in plaque between ages 40 and 60.
Why Traditional Risk Scores Miss Cases
A study showed that standard cardiovascular risk scores only picked out a small share of individuals who were already living with hidden atherosclerosis. This finding points to the possibility that some instances could slip past detection when relying solely on conventional risk evaluations.
They think portable ultrasound may eventually aid in spotting hidden plaque sooner. Still, they stressed that additional clinical trials must be carried out before anyone presumes the technology functions as intended in real use.
What Experts Are Saying
Experts want people to take heart health seriously without panicking. Finding plaque doesn’t mean someone is about to have a heart attack, but it does give doctors a chance to address a patient’s risk factors.
“Finding plaque doesn’t mean someone is about to have a heart attack, but finding it gives us an opportunity to address a patient’s risk factors,” Dr. Sirisha Vadali, a cardiologist at HonorHealth Women’s Heart Health in Arizona, told Fox News Digital. “We shouldn’t wait for symptoms to start paying attention to heart health.”
“Feeling healthy doesn’t necessarily mean your arteries are free of plaque,” Vadali, who was not involved in the research, added.
Vadali warned that the research by itself fails to prove that scanning every person will stop heart attacks or strokes from happening. She emphasized that the results do not suggest all individuals under 30 need artery screening, arguing that choices about extra tests should rest on a person’s particular risk profile instead.
To safeguard heart health, she advised steering clear of tobacco, keeping physically active, and adopting a diet heavy on vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts and fish while holding back on saturated fat and too much salt.
The Numbers Behind the Findings
| Age Group | Plaque Prevalence |
|---|---|
| 18–29 | Roughly 1 in 13 |
| 30–40 | Increasing steadily |
| 40–60 | Steepest increase for women |
| 60–70 | Roughly 9 in 10 |
The headline treats the findings as cause for alarm, yet the study offers no details on how its imaging was carried out. The expert reservations make the full picture plain. The researchers are right to argue that disease can be detected directly instead of estimated through risk factors alone, but the gap between imaging results and public health policy is wide, and the study does not close it.
These results point toward an early focus on heart health, which they hope will prompt individuals to take notice and act sooner rather than later.
Source material: “Silent heart threat found in adults under 30 with no known cardiovascular disease,” Fox News.
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