Silent artery plaque found in 1 in 13 adults under 30

A landmark cardiovascular study presented at ESC Congress 2026 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that silent atherosclerosis is far more common and starts far earlier than previously believed. Researchers used advanced ultrasound and imaging to examine the carotid, femoral and coronary arteries of 16,808 adults aged 18 to 70 in Denmark and Spain, none of whom had any known cardiovascular disease. Overall, 57.1% had evidence of plaque in at least one artery. Strikingly, about 1 in 13 participants between 18 and 29 already showed arterial plaques, with prevalence rising steadily to roughly 90% among people aged 60 to 70. Men developed detectable plaque five to ten years earlier than women, while women's rates accelerated most sharply between 40 and 60, coinciding with menopause. Plaque in the heart's coronary arteries frequently appeared alongside plaque in the more accessible neck and leg arteries, suggesting that routine ultrasound of those vessels could one day screen for hidden heart-disease risk without the need for coronary CT scans. The findings reinforce calls for earlier lifestyle intervention — diet, exercise, smoking cessation and blood-pressure control — well before middle age.