When I started training in heart surgery, more than 20 years ago, it was exceedingly rare to operate on people in their 50s. The patients in my office were mostly in their 70s and 80s. There was the occasional patient in their 60s. But 50? That was ultra rare.
But today, on a fairly routine basis, I see 40-year-olds on my operating table.
Younger and younger people are experiencing the effects of poor heart health and metabolic disease. The result is suffering from chronic diseases previously considered to be for older people.
Research suggests 19 out of 100,000 people between the ages of 20 and 39 have had at least one heart attack, and considering the median age of Americans is 39 years old, we’ve reached a tipping point that’s impossible to ignore.
I do not say this lightly:
Millions of young people are at risk for heart disease
Many people think that their age is a shield against heart disease.
And while youth can certainly play a part in your health, it offers poor protection against processed foods, excessive alcohol, and sugary snacks.
Metabolic syndrome is the precursor of heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases, and with 93% of people failing their metabolic health markers, more than nine in ten of us are at risk for a heart attack.
It’s worth remembering that metabolic diseases typically go undetected for many years and are not obvious at first glance. Certain people can appear fit, young, and active, but still have metabolic disease.
If you’re not sure where you fall on the spectrum, I invite you to take my free metabolic health quiz. Once you answer some questions about your health, I can send over personalized suggestions for restoring a healthy metabolism.
The test you should take to identify heart problems in your 30s
When we see people who somehow suffer heart attacks in their 30s, we must ask: have they had undiagnosed metabolic disease for a long time? Because although a heart attack may be the first time they noticed their heart health, there may have been warning signs detected with the help of lab work.
I’m a big advocate for blood work and lab tests, especially when it comes to identifying metabolic disease. Some tests are better than others, which is why I recommend running CAC tests for your heart.
The coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is the best test you can get at any age. I recommend starting as early as your 30s to set a baseline for your health and keep an eye on your progress.
Young people should expect to get a score of zero. Anything above zero, even a low number such as 5 or 10, is a warning sign of something brewing under the surface. This is your opportunity to make lifestyle changes to reduce your likelihood of future heart disease.
Remember: having a score of 0 at 30 does not mean you’re safe for life. It just means there’s nothing on the horizon right now.
Here’s how the scores break down:
- Anything under 100 is considered a low score and therefore a low risk of disease.
- Scores in the 100 to 300 range mean heart disease is possible, but somewhat less likely.
- Once you get above 1,000, it becomes very likely that you do have heart disease.
Keep in mind these scores break down further depending on gender and ethnicity. According to MESA, a 45-year-old Caucasian male has a 25% chance of scoring above zero, while a 45-year-old Black woman has an 8% chance of scoring above zero.
Should you take medications to help with heart disease in your 30s?
If a heart problem has already begun in your 30s, it will only get worse over time.
But if you decide to take statins or other medications, you may just be stalling the inevitable.
Or worse, villainizing the wrong thing.
The traditional thinking and approach to the prevention of heart disease is lowering cholesterol, especially if people show problems earlier on in life.
Many doctors, of course, recommend changing your diet and lifestyle, but what they often prescribe is medication by itself.
You can even see research pushing statin medications on young children, which I think is absolute insanity.
There are some genetic conditions that can affect your cholesterol, so the thought is if you screen for cholesterol imbalances early, you can catch problems before they get worse.
But we know now it may not be cholesterol causing heart issues. In fact, cholesterol cells are like firefighters putting out flames around your house. If you send them away with statins or avoid all foods with cholesterol, you’re essentially firing the very thing trying to help you survive.
Plus, focusing only on cholesterol is a nearsighted way of addressing a multifaceted issue. Unless you start eating whole, real foods, exercising regularly, and getting good sleep and stress relief, all you’re doing is dampening symptoms — not addressing the root of the problem.
The bottom line: medication is not the most effective way to combat heart disease.
Diet and lifestyle changes are.
Heart health resources for people under 30
After decades of practicing heart surgery and years of metabolic coaching, I’ve seen hundreds of young people needlessly suffer from the effects of heart disease.
I now routinely see 40-year-olds on my operating table, even though we can detect the early stages of heart disease five or 10 years before that.
And with the help of lab testing, young people can start screening themselves for metabolic syndrome beyond just checking their cholesterol levels.
This is one of the big reasons why I wrote Stay Off My Operating Table®: to encourage patients to follow a more sustainable lifestyle and subscribe to realistic, measurable ways to remain healthy.
If you’re interested in learning more about my prescription for metabolic disease, you can sign up receive a free chapter of my book. Then, if you want to learn more, you can read the entire book to explore the seven principles of metabolic health.