NEW DELHI: Most men in their thirties don’t see heart disease as a real threat. New research suggests that may be exactly when it begins.A large, long-term study published in Journal of American Heart Association shows that by the mid-30s, men’s risk of heart disease starts rising faster than women’s – years before any warning signs appear. Tracking over 5,000 adults for more than three decades, researchers found a clear divergence around age 35, after which men’s risk climbs faster and stays higher through midlife.Men reached a 5% incidence of cardiovascular disease about seven years earlier than women. The gap was even wider for coronary heart disease, where risk appeared more than a decade earlier, pointing to early damage in blood vessels. Notably, the difference persisted even after accounting for factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, obesity and physical activity.Experts say this mirrors a growing concern in India. Dr Ambuj Roy, professor of cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, said heart disease can no longer be viewed as a middle-age condition. “Risk factors are now appearing as early as the 30s, and since Indians develop cardiovascular disease earlier, screening for diabetes, hypertension and abnormal lipids must begin sooner,” he said.Experts also caution that the findings – based on a western cohort – may underestimate risks in Indian population. Dr Mohit Gupta of Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research said cardiovascular risk in South Asians often surfaces even earlier. While men tend to develop coronary disease sooner, women’s risk rises sharply after menopause and is often missed. “The key message is not about men versus women, but about missed prevention,” he said, calling for screening and risk awareness to begin in the thirties or earlier.Current screening guidelines typically focus on those aged 40 and above.For women, the pattern is different – lower risk in early adulthood followed by a sharp rise after menopause, narrowing the gap over time.
