For many Americans in their 30s and 40s, heart disease feels like a distant concern—something to think about decades down the road. But new research suggests that assumption may be dangerously outdated.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that the proportion of adults ages 18 to 54 who died in a hospital from a severe first heart attack rose 57% between 2011 and 2022, according to The Wall Street Journal. The increase is particularly troubling because heart-attack mortality overall has generally declined over past decades due to medical advances.
“The increase among 18- to 54-year-olds is especially concerning because mortality from heart attacks has generally been declining,” said Dr. Mohan Satish, lead author of the study and a clinical cardiovascular-disease fellow at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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The study analyzed nearly one million adults under age 55 who were hospitalized with their first heart attack. It focused specifically on severe heart attacks—cases in which a blood vessel supplying the heart is completely blocked. Researchers found that while more than three-quarters of these patients were men, women died at higher rates than men.
The findings add to growing concerns about women’s cardiovascular health. According to The Wall Street Journal, a separate report published in Circulation projected that 59% of adult women will have hypertension by 2050, up from 49% in 2020.
Dr. Karen Joynt Maddox, a cardiologist and health-policy researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, described the broader trend in sobering terms. “We have this epidemic of cardiovascular risk,” she said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
She offered a stark assessment of what it means when a young adult suffers a major cardiac event. “If you’re 35 and having a heart attack, the rarest of genetic disorders aside, it’s usually because your health is quite poor across a number of different angles,” Joynt Maddox said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The study identified several risk factors contributing to the rise in deaths, including diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and drug use. About 60% of patients had high blood pressure. More than half had high cholesterol and smoked. Roughly one-quarter had diabetes. Low income may also play a role, especially when it limits access to preventive care and treatment.
For Catholics, these findings raise both medical and moral questions. The Church teaches that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Caring for our health is not simply about self-improvement; it is an act of stewardship. Just as we are called to protect the dignity of every human life, we are also called to care responsibly for the gift of our own lives.
The rise in heart disease among younger adults also underscores the importance of solidarity. Many of the identified risk factors—such as poverty and limited healthcare access—reflect broader social challenges. Catholic social teaching emphasizes the preferential option for the poor and the need to ensure that vulnerable populations have access to adequate healthcare.
Dr. Sadiya Khan, a cardiovascular epidemiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, warned that younger adults may not realize they are at risk. “Young people are getting missed,” she said, according to The Wall Street Journal. She recommends that younger adults use long-term risk calculators and consider a 30-year risk estimate rather than relying solely on a 10-year projection, which may offer false reassurance.
The reality is sobering: heart attacks, once thought of as diseases of old age, are increasingly affecting those in the prime of life. For Catholic families, this is a reminder to take practical steps—regular checkups, healthy habits, attention to blood pressure and cholesterol—while also fostering a culture that values human dignity, supports the vulnerable, and promotes authentic care for body and soul.
In a society that often prioritizes productivity over well-being, this emerging trend invites reflection. Our health is not guaranteed. It is a gift entrusted to us—one that calls for vigilance, responsibility, and care for ourselves and one another.
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