RISK FACTORS AND CLINICAL PROFILE OF YOUNG PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Abstract

With significant epidemiological, etiological, and prognostic ramifications, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in young adults is a unique and increasingly acknowledged clinical entity. Even while younger populations have a lower overall prevalence of AMI than older persons, recent decades have shown a worrying increase, especially in low- and middle-income nations. Young patients with AMI have a risk factor profile that is significantly different from that of older people. Modifiable factors like smoking, dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and psychosocial stress are more common than non-traditional and emerging factors like substance abuse, thrombophilic disorders, inflammatory conditions, and genetic predisposition. Clinically, young individuals may have fewer comorbidities, less severe coronary artery disease, and a higher frequency of single-vessel involvement, although they frequently present with typical ischemia symptoms. Young people with AMI risk high long-term morbidity, repeated cardiovascular events, and major socioeconomic repercussions, even if their short-term prognosis are generally better than those of older patients. In order to identify knowledge gaps and emphasize the significance of early identification, aggressive risk factor modification, and targeted preventive strategies in this population, this narrative review summarizes current data on the epidemiology, risk factors, clinical characteristics, angiographic findings, and outcomes of AMI in young patients.