Heart attacks are usually heard as a complication experienced by many older adults. However, heart attacks became frequent in people under the age of 40.
This condition became a problem even for people in their 20s or 30s. But how did this experience happen?
This phenomenon has alarmed healthcare professionals due to the rise in heart attack cases among younger people.
How did heart attacks become a frequent condition even in the younger generation?
These questions are directly linked to the stress levels, modern lifestyle choices, or other health issues that the younger generation experiences over time.
To answer the quick trend of heart attacks among the younger generations, let us find out why this has happened, what the most ignored signs are, and what they tell us about your heart health.
Why is Heart Attack Trending Among the Younger Generation?
Globally, heart disease has been the leading cause of death for many adults. However, it surprises many that the trend is much common among people under 40.
Recent studies confirmed that among the five patients who experienced a heart attack, one of them was under the age of 40.
Health professionals determined that young adults who experience heart attacks commonly have heart blockages. They often disregard several symptoms such as chest discomfort, shortness of breath, or body fatigue.
The trend of heart attacks among the younger generation is due to their modern lifestyle, which normalizes bad eating habits, poor sleeping habits, and high cortisol levels (stress).
What are the Possible Culprits of this Trend?
Despite being the easiest demographic to recover quickly, young people are not exception from facing heart attacks.
The risks associated with their modern lifestyle brought more negative consequences to their health.
Here are some of the biggest culprits for why young adults suffer from heart attacks:
Fast-Food Dependence
Fast food offers convenience and ready-made meals to satisfy hunger and cravings. However, daily intake is bad for health.
They taste great for your palate. But they are packed with unhealthy ingredients that affect your cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Not just that, it can also add a spike to your sugar levels, add more calories, and cause clogged arteries due to oil buildup.
Chronic Worries and Stress
Modern lifestyle may be ambitious and all about instant access. However, deadlines, demands, or the need for validation further add to your stress and worries.
If you are experiencing consistent stress or worries about everything, it makes your cortisol levels or stress hormones consistently higher.
The higher your cortisol levels are, the greater the risk they pose to your overall cardiovascular health.
Don’t let your constant stress or worries cloud your entire system. It only fuels more problems for you over time.
Sedentary Lifestyle
Are you someone who spends a lot on sitting, looking at phones, in front of the TV, or eating junk food? These are a few examples of a sedentary lifestyle.
The lack of physical movement not only weakens the heart but also defeats its purpose to ensure a well-balanced blood circulation.
This problem not only remains in the heart as an organ alone, but it can also affect your metabolism, contribute to your high cholesterol levels, and lead you to a higher risk of getting diagnosed with diabetes.
Vapes or Smokes a Lot
Smoking remains the top reason for frequent heart attack cases among younger adults. Adding to this is the fact that vaping has remained profitable over the years.
WHO considered vaping as a nicotine product with 10x the nicotine ingredients as that of tobacco cigarettes alone.
Despite its numerous flavors, a vape is not a humidifier, which is bad for inhaling. Nicotine inflicts more damage to your blood vessels and increases your blood pressure.
Smoking a lot does not bring any physical benefits to you, especially in your long-term health.
High Blood Pressure and Sugar Level
Having high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure levels are also contributing factors for younger adults to have a risk of a heart attack.
The overtime increase of their levels is due to age, weight, heredity, or combined factors. If you suspect having higher levels of cholesterol, glycemic, or blood pressure, it is better to have a check-up.
The Role of Sleep and Mental Health
There are two essential factors that you must consider to ensure a protected heart health. These are your sleeping habits and your mental stability.
Your sleeping habit is a non-negotiable factor that greatly affects your heart health. If you don’t get sufficient rest, it releases more hormonal stress and inflammation. Bad for your heart health.
Studies confirmed that you are more likely to get heart disease when you frequently sleep for less than six hours at night.
Another factor to consider connected to your health is your mental health. Did you know that loneliness, anxiety, or depression affects both your physical and cardiovascular condition?
Experiencing a negative emotion causes you to halt any physical or mental activities that promote better health conditions. Instead, they resort to negative activities that further damage their mind and body.
Always remember not to compromise your sleep and overcome negative thoughts that cloud your condition with fear, judgment, or discouragement.
What Are the Early Signs That You Can Get a Heart Attack?
Heart attacks don’t usually manifest themselves just like what you have witnessed on television or in movies. It can be somewhat true for older adults, but not with younger adults.
Other symptoms of heart attack among the younger generation tend to be silent yet fatal.
Regardless of whether you are too young, fit, or physically active, symptoms can appear anytime. That is why a healthy lifestyle and other health-conscious choices are a necessary move.
In case you don’t know how heart attacks might attack you or other younger adults you know, here are a few warning signs you must pay attention to:
- If you feel or experience dizziness, sweating, or nausea frequently.
- Feeling lightheaded or feeling unusual fatigue.
- Experiencing a shortness of breath, despite not feeling any discomfort in your chest.
- Pain in your arms, shoulders, jaw, or neck, which is more common among adult women.
- Discomfort in your chest, such as being squeezed, pressured, or heavy, that lasts for minutes.
What Makes Heart Attacks Among the Younger Generation Different?
Heart attacks in older adults can be easily determined, especially in their lifestyle, health conditions, and other age-related factors.
But health professionals have a challenging time determining the heart complications among the younger generation due to having fewer clogged arteries. They resort instead to monitoring the health history, genetics, and lifestyle choices.
Younger adults who suffer from a heart attack may appear physically healthy. That is why further test results and a comprehensive lifestyle check could be their options to ensure the right diagnosis of their condition.
While recent statistics show that men are more likely to suffer heart attacks than women when they are at their prime, women nearly surpass those figures.
Among younger women, a heart attack is often linked with having Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), hormonal changes, and the rise of both their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
However, it is also essential to know that the signs of having a heart attack risk among women are more delicate and more challenging to determine than men who have it.
Certain symptoms, such as upper back pain, nausea, or body fatigue, are known symptoms of a heart attack among women. Men, on the other hand, experience frequent chest discomfort, body pain, or cold sweat, if they more likely to have a heart attack.
Both men and women must be responsible for their heart health.
How to Promote a Healthy Heart?
Since heart attacks are now happening even to younger adults. There are actionable strategies to reduce the symptoms that lead to such a condition.
Make these lifestyle changes to your daily routine to reduce the risk of getting a heart attack.
Eat Foods that are Good for the Heart
Choose the foods that are good for your heart. Avoid dependence on sugary drinks and processed foods as part of your daily diet.
Physical Movement is Necessary
Allow at least 30 minutes to an hour of physical activity. It can be cycling, brisk walking, dancing, or stretching.
Implement Effective Stress Management
Manage your stress by taking actions or steps to ensure you are happy and energetic the whole day. Add some de-stressing moments in your routine for effective, consistent stress management.
Quality Sleep
Create a relaxed and electronics-free sleeping habit. Aim for a consistent 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.
Monitor Your Health Condition
The basics of health monitoring are to ensure you have regular blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. An occasional doctor’s appointment or early detection check-up is a must.
A Heart-Centric Lifestyle is Critical
Heart attacks became frequent among young adults, raising growing concern among health experts.
It may not be the most expected trend in recent years, but it is inevitable in a stressful or draining world.
However, there are certain actions that you can do to keep your heart healthy. Your mindset, choices, or daily habits play a vital role in reducing the risk of having a heart attack.
The problem of a heart attack is no longer about your age. The big deal today is how you make sure you have a healthy heart.
Be responsible for your heart health by implementing a heart-centric lifestyle. It is critical for your survival, regardless of whether you are a younger or older adult.