Coronary artery disease in young patients: clinical review and risk factor analysis

Fifty consecutive younger patients (< or = 40 years) with coronary artery disease, who underwent coronary angiography in National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases were evaluated clinically and coronary risk factors were analyzed and compared with those of fifty older patients with coronary artery disease. Mean age of younger and older patients were 37.31 and 54.58 years respectively and myocardial infarction was the most common presenting complain in both the groups. Smoking and family history of premature coronary artery disease were more common in younger patients but the older patients were more diabetic and hypertensive. Central obesity and dyslipidemia did not vary between the two groups. Fifty percent of younger patients had one or two modifiable risk factors where sixty four percent of older patients had three or more modifiable risk factors. Forty four percent younger patients had hypercholesterolemia but a majority of patients had either isolated hypertriglyciredemia or decrease high density lipoprotein cholesterol or both with normal total cholesterol level but the total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol index were more than 4.5. Younger patients had more number of normal coronary or single vessel diseases but older group had more number of triple vessel diseases. So the higher incidence of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus with central obesity suggesting insulin resistance along with unique profile of dyslipidemia, higher incidence of smoking and familial predisposition of premature coronary artery disease may be responsible for higher incidence of coronary artery disease at a premature younger age in this population.