Occasionally a young person can get a heart attack due to early initiation of heavy smoking. More likely heart attack in the young are due to familial disorders causing very high cholesterol and birth defects (congenital anomalies) in coronary arteries. Familial homozygous hypercholesterolemia produces very high cholesterol levels of the order of 1000 mg / dl and are very difficult to control. They have multiple tendon xanthomas (fat deposits under the skin over the muscle tendons). Very rarely following heart attack in the young can be following Kawasaki’s disease. Kawasaki’s disease causes aneurysms in the coronary arteries which can lead to blood clots in them and heart attack.
