Coronary Artery Disease at a young age

Since the Korean war in 1953, examination of soldiers killed in action has shown evidence of coronary artery disease (CAD), even at a young age (av: 22 yo).  Gradually, the incidence CAD in soldiers has decreased from 77% to 8.5%:

This decrease has to a large extent been caused  by less smoking. Rates have decreased in the military. The majority (51%) of service members smoked cigarettes in 1980, but by 1998 this figure has decreased to 30%, in part by making some army facilities such as navy ships smoke-free. However, these rates are still higher than today’s similar civilian rates (less than 25%).

Despite this, “healthy” American soldiers serving in today’s army have a number of other preventable risk factors, not expected to cause CAD at this age (av. 27yo), some unexpected in physically active young adults:

This study compares with others that have reported on childhood obesity: children can develop risk factors for heart disease as early as age 5, explaining  why young soldiers may have developed heart disease.

Concluson:  The importance of a heart healthy lifestyle beginning at a young age. This is what you can do. To see if you are at risk, check this cardiac risk assesment link.