A recent study led by the Spanish Society of Cardiology has highlighted that tobacco use and cholesterol abnormalities are significant contributors to early heart attacks, defined as those occurring before the age of 55 in men and 65 in women. The findings were presented at the SEC25 Congress on Cardiovascular Health and stem from a sub-analysis of the GENAMI-Prevention study, which included over 500 patients from 20 hospitals across Spain suffering from acute myocardial infarction and obstructive coronary artery disease.
According to Héctor Bueno, a cardiologist at the University Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid and a co-author of the study, patients experiencing early ischemic heart disease exhibited notable clinical differences compared to those with later onset. The younger group showed a lower prevalence of hypertension and diabetes but had a significantly higher rate of active smoking and hypercholesterolemia, along with a family history of coronary heart disease.
Specifically, 47.4 percent of patients who suffered early heart attacks had hypertension, compared to 66.6 percent among those who experienced heart attacks at older ages. Similarly, the prevalence of diabetes was lower in the younger cohort at 18.4 percent compared to 34.8 percent in the older group. However, 60 percent of the younger patients reported being active smokers, versus 29 percent in the older group. Additionally, 17.8 percent of younger patients had a family history of coronary disease, while this figure was 11.2 percent for the older patients. Hypercholesterolemia affected 13.6 percent of the younger group compared to 7.8 percent of the older patients.
Regarding treatment, the younger patients underwent more invasive cardiac procedures, such as coronary angiographies, and were more frequently prescribed stronger medications to prevent blood clot formation, although the use of aspirin, statins, and heart failure medications was similar across both age groups. Bueno emphasized that these results underline the necessity to identify and manage specific risk factors in young patients with heart attacks, particularly focusing on smoking and cholesterol levels, to enhance their prognosis and quality of life.
This sub-analysis utilized data from the GENAMI-Prevention study, which aimed to explore specific gender-related factors present in women with acute myocardial infarction. The study sought to understand if these factors could explain any differences in the treatment of heart attacks between genders and whether they influence women”s adherence to secondary prevention measures, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological, in the year following a heart attack.
Bueno concluded that the findings reinforce the understanding that specific risk factors affecting women, often overlooked in cardiac history assessments, are highly prevalent and can significantly impact the development of disease, the quality of care, and patient outcomes.
