Madrid9% of men aged 18 to 29 in a study had artery plaque.
Atherosclerosis narrows arteries and can cause heart attacks and strokes, and is more common over 50.
Researchers scanned almost 17,000 adults aged 18 to 70 in Denmark and Spain, using CT angiography for heart arteries and ultrasound elsewhere.
Olli Raitakari of Turku says plaque does not necessarily predict a heart attack and no evidence shows screening prevents one.
The researchers say it is unclear whether the results apply outside Denmark and Spain.
How each outlet framed it
- New Scientist
- stresses that atherosclerosis is already present in a meaningful fraction of people in their 20s and 30s, citing Raitakari's 'lifelong process' framing
Sources: New Scientist