Atherosclerosis precursors in children. The Bologna study. Preliminary data

Atherosclerosis lesions start considerably earlier than the onset of clinical disease. It is now generally agreed that atherosclerosis may start as early as in childhood and adolescence. Studies of arterial pathology have shown that fatty streaks are present in the aortas of children as young as three years of age. By the age of 20 years, raised lesions significant to the development of clinical disease begin to appear in coronary arteries (1,2,3).