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<\/p>\nEXCLUSIVE: Heart disease is on the rise in young people and there are certain lifestyle habits that may be the cause. We ask a GP to weigh in on the troubling spike in cases<\/p>\n
15:02, 11 Jun 2026Updated 15:09, 11 Jun 2026<\/p>\n
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Heart disease in young adults is rising according to experts(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n
Every week one in 12 healthy young adults die in the UK from undiagnosed heart conditions<\/a>.<\/p>\n While heart disease is something usually associated with older generations, it’s on the rise in under 40s and one doctor has a major ‘concern’ over the spike in cases.<\/p>\n Gen-Z <\/a>are often dubbed the “healthiest” lifestyle group, with young Brits swapping pubs for coffee shops and boozy nights out for early morning park runs. But a GP has warned that certain habits can put you at higher risk of heart problems.<\/p>\n And it’s not only those who are deemed ‘unhealthy’ that are at risk – heart issues can affect active people too. Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed during a match for the second time this week.<\/p>\n The 34-year-old suffered a heart attack in 2021 which led to him having an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) fitted that constantly monitors heart rhythm. It also automatically delivers an electrical shock if it detects dangerously fast or abnormal beats.<\/p>\n Away from the world<\/a> of professional athletes, Dr Asimah Hanif says some everyday habits play a huge factor. “Some younger people are arriving at serious heart problems earlier in life, and lifestyle is typically a big driver,” the doctor, who is working with Staysure<\/a>, tells us.<\/p>\n Christian Eriksen was taken to hospital after collapsing in a friendly for Denmark(Image: (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen\/NurPhoto via Getty Images))<\/p>\n “The rise of vaping is particularly concerning. It’s still seen by many young people as a safe habit, but the evidence suggests that it raises blood pressure<\/a>, increases heart rate, and can damage arterial walls over time.<\/p>\n “Add to that, diets built around ultra-processed food, long periods of inactivity, and chronic stress, and you have a generation at risk of putting significant pressure on their cardiovascular system from a very young age. These aren’t risks that announce themselves. By the time symptoms appear, damage has often already been done.”<\/p>\n Battery powered vapes don’t have the toxic effect of tobacco smoke which is why people see them as a better alternative to traditional smoking, but they aren’t totally harm-free. A 2016 study published in Environmental Science & Technology<\/a> found harmful emissions in the vapour, including possible carcinogens and irritants, though at a much lower level than in conventional cigarettes, according to the British Heart Foundation.<\/p>\n Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, explains: “Just because e-cigarettes may be less harmful than tobacco doesn’t mean they are completely safe. We know they contain significantly fewer of the harmful chemicals, which can cause diseases related to smoking, but we still don’t know the long-term impact on the heart and circulation, or other aspects of health.<\/p>\n “E-cigarettes and vaping should never be taken up by people who don’t already smoke, but could be a useful tool to help people to stop smoking completely.”<\/p>\n Dr Hanif concedes that it’s not just vaping that’s causing the rise. Like Eriksen, physical fitness and heart disease are not “mutually exclusive”. He says: “You can be in peak cardiovascular condition and still have an underlying heart condition that exercise alone won’t prevent or fix.<\/p>\n “After his 2021 cardiac arrest, Eriksen was fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. As fit and healthy as professional athletes are, those with pre-existing conditions still require consistent management – having that device in place is what likely prevented a far more serious outcome. [after his second collapse].”<\/p>\n UK researches say young women with silent heart issues are at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). A voluntary screening service found that out of almost 40,000 women aged 14 to 35 who had heart checks, 175 were found to have undiagnosed issues, despite seeming fit and healthy, with 94 at high risk of sudden cardiac death, the BBC<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n While the British Heart Foundation revealed that the number of people dying before the age of 75 in England from heart and circulatory diseases has risen to the highest level in over a decade, according to new analysis.<\/p>\n Latest figures show that in 2022, over 39,000 people in England died prematurely of cardiovascular conditions including heart attacks, coronary heart disease and stroke \u2013 an average of 750 people each week and is the highest annual total since 2008.<\/p>\n Now The UK National Screening Committee is reviewing whether all over-14s should be checked for conditions associated with SCD. Each week in the UK, 12 people aged 35 or below die suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition, according to the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).<\/p>\n “It is one of the most common causes of death in young people. We believe it’s an incredibly under-resourced area and there is a general underestimation not only of young sudden death, but also of the impact young sudden death has on families, friends and wider communities,” Dr Steven Cox, chief executive of charity organisation Cardiac Risk in the Young<\/a> (CRY) told the Independent.<\/p>\n Dr Hanif says “small changes can make a real difference” and that eating whole foods, staying active and avoiding smoking and vaping can help.<\/p>\n “Getting enough sleep, and having your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly are the foundations of good heart health. And if you do have a diagnosed condition, managing it properly with your GP is just as important as any lifestyle change,” she explains.<\/p>\n For those worried about heart health and cardivasular disease, it’s always recommended to speak to your GP or healthcare professional. More information can be found on the British Heart Foundation website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Heart disease is on the rise in young people and there are certain lifestyle habits that may…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[6612,6647,59,102,2750,10576,34295,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-633828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-blood-pressure","tag-fitness","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-heart-disease","tag-periods","tag-travel-insurance","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2_GettyImages-2279204561.jpg\")
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