Heart experts are now urging that teenagers as young as 15 should be prescribed statins to reduce their future risk of heart disease. This recommendation follows a recent study that indicates the early signs of heart attacks and strokes can be detected in adolescence.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge discovered that high or fluctuating cholesterol levels in childhood significantly increase the risk of atherosclerosis—a condition that narrows arteries due to fatty deposits, potentially leading to heart attacks or strokes.
Professor Ziad Mallat, a cardiologist and author of the study, suggests that teens may benefit from statins to manage cholesterol, particularly if lifestyle interventions fail. Initial experiments on mice showed that intermittent exposure to high-fat diets in youth significantly worsened the risk of developing atherosclerosis.
The study, published in Nature, also analyzed long-term data from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, which tracked heart health from childhood to adulthood. The findings revealed that children with high cholesterol levels were more likely to experience artery plaque build-up later in life.
Mallat emphasizes the importance of early intervention, suggesting that cholesterol management should begin much earlier than previously thought. Public awareness of the dangers of high cholesterol in childhood is essential, along with potential early screening programs during adolescence.
In cases where lifestyle changes, such as dietary adjustments and increased physical activity, are insufficient, statins and other cholesterol-lowering medications could be considered.
While statins are already prescribed to some children in the UK with familial hypercholesterolemia—a genetic disorder that causes dangerously high cholesterol—expanding their use could be crucial in reducing cardiovascular disease risk for the broader population.
Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), noted that surges in cholesterol, not just consistently high levels, can contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. With heart disease accounting for one in four deaths in the UK, managing cholesterol from an early age could play a vital role in preventing future fatalities.
Currently, cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death in the UK, responsible for approximately 170,000 deaths annually—around one death every three minutes.
