With permission from the patient to post, this 38-year old man’s story is emblematic of a growing number of young adults suffering heart attacks from premature coronary artery disease.

Why are we no longer “young at heart” in America? The Framingham Heart Study reminds us of the importance of six risk factors for cardiovascular disease: High total cholesterol, low HDL, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and smoking.

While family history and genetic predisposition are important, we are seeing a massive increase in obese young adults who lack exercise, with signs of advanced metabolic syndrome—then, add in today’s stress and seemingly endless world crises, we now have the perfect brew for premature inflammatory vascular disease, heart attacks, and sudden death.

Education remains the key. A recent Harvard survey of more than 4,000 individuals, with an average age of 30, found that over 65% of these young adults were unable to identify ANY of the six major cardiac risk factors. That’s a striking finding and one that we can change with better education and mentoring.

Families need to instill healthier habits in their children at a younger age and encourage their children to adopt an attitude and focus on lifelong well-being. Schools and colleges would do well to provide mandatory health courses and promote healthier activities and better food options on campuses. Corporations and businesses would also see better productivity from their teams if a focus on healthier lifestyles becomes an integral part of their business model.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take time, effort, and funding to turn around the health of our youth in America. Until then, we might expect to see more cases like the one illustrated in this video.