The age at which the risk of heart attack in men begins to sharply increase has been identified

Men begin to face coronary heart disease several years earlier than women, and differences in risk are noticeable already in the mid-thirties. This conclusion was reached by the authors of a large long-term study. The work is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).

Scientists analyzed data from the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) project, which began in the mid-1980s. The study included more than 5,100 Americans who were healthy at the start, aged 18 to 30, who were followed until 2020.

Because the participants were young and did not have heart disease at the beginning of the project, researchers were able to pinpoint exactly when the risks begin to differ. Men reached a 5 percent probability of developing cardiovascular disease about seven years earlier than women - on average by age 50.5 compared to 57.5.

The main contributor to this gap was specifically coronary heart disease. Men reached a 2 percent risk of developing it more than ten years earlier than women. At the same time, the incidence of stroke in men and women was similar, and differences in heart failure appeared later.

The authors checked whether the early development of disease in men could be explained by traditional risk factors - cholesterol levels, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, diet, physical activity, and body weight. Some of these, especially hypertension, did indeed play a role, but did not fully explain the difference.

This points to the possible influence of additional biological and social factors that have not yet been sufficiently studied.

One of the most important results was the discovery of a "breaking point." Until the early 30s, the risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women was comparable. However, from around age 35, it began to grow faster in men and remained higher throughout middle life.

Most prevention and screening programs are aimed at people over 40, which, according to the authors, may mean a missed window for early intervention.

"Encouraging preventive visits among young men may be an important opportunity to reduce their long-term cardiovascular risk," notes Friedman.

The authors emphasized that cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death for both men and women, and prevention is important for everyone - it's just that it might be worth starting earlier than is commonly thought.