Higher Blood Pressure in Teens Tied to Later Risk for Atherosclerosis

TUESDAY, Nov. 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Higher blood pressure (BP) levels in adolescence are associated with a dose-dependent higher risk for atherosclerosis in middle age, according to a study published online Nov. 19 in JAMA Cardiology.

Ángel Herraiz-Adillo, Ph.D., from Linköping University in Sweden, and colleagues examined the association between BP in adolescence and computed tomography-detected atherosclerosis in middle age. The analysis included 10,222 men with a median age of 18.3 years at baseline enrolled in the Swedish Military Conscription Register who were followed for a median 39.5 years.

The researchers found that elevated BP in adolescence was associated with coronary stenosis in a dose-response fashion. A higher risk for severe coronary stenosis (≥50 percent) was seen among adolescents with stage 2 hypertension (odds ratio, 1.84 and an adjusted prevalence of 10.1 percent) compared with those with normal BP (adjusted prevalence, 6.9 percent). Elevated blood pressure, defined by the 2025 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (120-129/<80 mm Hg) and the 2024 European Society of Cardiology (120-139/70-89 mm Hg), was associated with severe coronary atherosclerosis in middle age. Systolic BP showed a stronger association than diastolic BP.

“While it is never too late to make changes, obviously the earlier a change is made, the better the outcome will be,” David A. Katz, M.D., adult congenital cardiologist from Northwell Health in New York, said in a statement. “Obesity and hypertension in our youth are on the rise, and because the negative outcomes are not seen until several years later, sometimes it”s difficult to get young people to change their unhealthy habits.”

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