Middle-aged adults with three or more ‘unhealthy traits’ are more likely to have a heart attack two years earlier than those who have none, a study suggests.
They are also more likely to die prematurely, academics found.
Researchers said middle-aged adults who feel generally well in themselves may have some underlying problems such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels or high cholesterol.
They warned that there are a growing number of people with ‘metabolic syndrome’, where people are unknowingly storing up problems for later life.
‘Many people in their 40s and 50s have a bit of fat around the middle and marginally elevated blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose but feel generally well, are unaware of the risks and do not seek medical advice,’ said author Dr Lena Lonnberg, of Vastmanland County Hospital in Sweden.
‘This scenario, called metabolic syndrome, is a growing problem in Western populations where people are unknowingly storing up problems for later in life.
‘This is a huge missed opportunity to intervene before heart attacks and strokes that could have been avoided occur.’
The study, which has been presented to the ESC Congress in Amsterdam, saw researchers analyse data on more than 34,000 adults in their 40s and 50s from Sweden who attended a heart disease screening programme in the 1990s.
During the screening, information was gathered on weight, height, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose (sugar) levels, and they also completed a survey about their lifestyle habits.
People were deemed to have metabolic syndrome if they had three or more of the following traits: a large waist circumference, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or high blood sugar levels.
Among the group, 5,000 were deemed to have metabolic syndrome and their information was compared with 10,000 people without metabolic syndrome.
The people in the study were then tracked for an average of 27 years.
During the follow-up period 26% of people with metabolic syndrome died, compared to 19% without.
Researchers said this means that those with metabolic syndrome were 30% more likely to die during the follow-up period compared with their counterparts without metabolic syndrome.
Some 32% of people deemed to have metabolic syndrome had a non-fatal heart attack or stroke, compared with 22% of people who did not, corresponding to a 35% greater risk of heart attack and stroke among those with metabolic syndrome.
The team of academics said that people with metabolic syndrome were more likely to have a heart attack or stroke 2.3 years earlier than their peers not living with the unhealthy traits.
‘As metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors, the level of each individual component does not have to be severely raised,’ said Dr Lonnberg.
‘In fact, most people live with slightly raised levels for many years before having symptoms that lead them to seek health care.
‘In our study, middle-aged adults with metabolic syndrome had a heart attack or stroke 2.3 years earlier than those without the collection of unhealthy traits. Blood pressure was the riskiest component, particularly for women in their 40s, highlighting the value of keeping it under control.’
She concluded: ‘The results underline the importance of early detection of risk factors through health screening programmes so that preventive actions can be taken to prevent heart attack, stroke and premature death.
‘As a general rule of thumb, even if you feel well, check your blood pressure every year, avoid smoking, keep an eye on your waist circumference and last, but definitely not least, be physically active every day.’
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