Identifying High-Risk Silent Atherosclerosis: ESC 2026
A large-scale study presented at the ESC Congress 2026 reveals that silent atherosclerosis is highly prevalent in adults, affecting over half of the participants. The research highlights that the disease is systemic and progressive, with distinct patterns of development between men and women.
Why it matters
Understanding the early onset and progression of silent atherosclerosis is crucial for improving cardiovascular risk assessment and preventative medicine.
SILENT atherosclerosis was detected from early adulthood and increased markedly with age, according to findings from the REACT study, presented during the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2026.
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 16,808 adults aged 18 to 70 years without known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease .
Participants from Denmark and Spain underwent multimodal imaging to assess the presence of atherosclerosis in the carotid, femoral, and coronary arteries.
Three-dimensional vascular ultrasound was used to evaluate carotid and femoral arteries, while coronary computed tomography angiography and coronary artery calcification assessment were used to examine coronary disease.
The mean participant age was 45 years, and enrolment was balanced across age decades with equal proportions of women and men.
Overall, silent atherosclerosis was identified in 57.1% of participants. Prevalence increased progressively with age, following an S-shaped pattern.
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