ABSTRACT
Atherosclerosis begins during the very early years of life. In fact, oxidation of LDL cholesterol and formation of fatty streaks has even been observed at the fetal stage.6 Enos and associates demonstrated the presence of CAD in young US soldiers (18-25 years old) killed in the Korean War.7 Similar findings were later observed during autopsies of young soldiers killed in Vietnam.8 These findings have been confirmed in a number of studies, including the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) study, which showed that atherosclerosis originates in childhood and that the prevalence and extent of fatty streaks and fibrous plaques increase rapidly between the ages of 15 and 34 years.9
