According to a new study published in the latest edition of Annals of Family Medicine, the risk factors for a heart disease in children and youth are being left undetected due to confusion of when and who among them should be screened. The signs of heart disease can now be seen even in children as opposed to the general belief that it is a middle age disease.

An easy and efficient way to check for risk of heart disease is to test the bad cholesterol levels. An increase in the bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein levels indicates a higher risk of developing a heart disease. However, even this simple test is ignored.

The research team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied the data collected by National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2006. This national survey included physical screenings and interviews so as to determine how frequently the children and youth are screened for bad cholesterol levels.

The survey involved 2,587 youth and found that the percentage of men aged 25-30 years and women aged 20-45 years screened was less than 50. Yet, a high risk of heart disease or other conditions that lead to one like diabetes, obesity, smoking, hypertension or family history was found among 59% of them.

The findings also revealed that 65 percent of children and young adults with heart illness or its associated conditions had high bad cholesterol levels. 26 percent of those with at least two risk factors had high levels of LDSL cholesterol whereas 12 percent of those youths who had one risk factor. 7 percent of young adults had high LDL cholesterol levels even though they had no risk factors for a heart disease.

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute is at present preparing new guidelines to be released soon. The new guidelines known as Pediatric Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Initiative will make a broader recommendations for screening the heart disease risks. These guidelines will also include instructions on screening of 18 to 21 year old young adults. This group was previously under-screened due to confusion regarding their status as children or adults.

Source:

Annals of Family Medicine