New Delhi: Most men in their thirties do not see heart disease as a real threat. New research suggests this may be exactly when it starts.A large, long-term study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that by the mid-30s, men’s risk of heart disease begins to increase faster than women’s — years before any warning signs appear. After tracking more than 5,000 adults over three decades, researchers found a clear divergence around age 35, after which the risk rises sharply in men and remains higher through midlife.Heart disease rates in men reached 5% about seven years earlier than women. The difference was even wider for coronary heart disease, where the risk appeared more than a decade earlier, pointing to early damage in the blood vessels. Notably, the difference persisted even after taking into account factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, obesity and physical activity.Experts say this reflects growing concern in India. Dr Ambuj Roy, professor of cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, said heart disease can no longer be seen as a middle-age condition. “Risk factors now start appearing as early as the age of 30 and since Indians develop cardiovascular diseases earlier, screening for diabetes, hypertension and abnormal lipids should start early,” he said.Experts also caution that findings based on Western countries may underestimate the risks in the Indian population. Dr. Mohit Gupta of Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research said that cardiovascular risk is often detected earlier in South Asian people. While men develop coronary disease early, in women the risk increases rapidly after menopause and often goes undetected. “The main message is not about men versus women, but about missed prevention,” he said, calling for screening and risk awareness to begin in the thirties or earlier.Current screening guidelines generally focus on people age 40 and older.For women, the pattern is different – ​​the risk is lower in early adulthood followed by a sharp increase after menopause, with the difference diminishing over time.