Study of Risk Factors Associated with CAD in Young Patients

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a new emerging clinical and public health problem in the young adults (≤45 years) especially in India where CAD happens nearly a decade earlier than in Western population. The risk factor profile in young patients is quite different than that in older adults and requires dedicated investigation.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of conventional risk factors in young CAD patients and to analyze their association with the type of CAD presentation.

Methods: The research study of cross sectional type was carried out in the Department of Medicine of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences and Post Graduate Institute, Indore, Madhya Pradesh for a period of 18 months (June 2024– November 2025). A total of 102 younger patients (aged 18–45 years) presenting with CAD were recruited. The data was recorded using pre-structured proforma such as clinical, biochemical, echocardiographic.

Results: Most of the patients (58.8%) were from the 36–45 years age group. Thus, patients’ mean age was 38.4 ± 5.2 years. Males predominated (76.5%). The most common conventional risk factor was dyslipidemia (60.8%), followed by smoking (56.9%), hypertension (44.1%) smokeless tobacco (40.2%), diabetes (37.3%) family history of CAD (31.4%) obesity (27.5%) The most common clinical presentation was STEMI (63.7%), with the largest subgroup being Anterior Wall MI (34.3%). Troponin I level was raised in 83.3% and CPK-MB in 73.5% patients. In 47.1% of cases, the ejection fraction was reduced (<50%). There was a significant difference in STEMI with smoking (p = 0.04). There was no difference for other risk factors concerning CAD types (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: The major risk factors for CAD in young patients include dyslipidemia, smoking, hypertension, and smokeless tobacco use. STEMI is the most referring kind correlated with Smoking. These findings highlight the important need for targeted modifications of risk factors and preventive interventions at a young age.