Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic syndrome Starts Young: The Arteries Already Know 🚨

🫀 Can vascular injury begin in your early 20s? Apparently, yes. In 1,283 young adults (mean age 22.9 years), ~79% had Stage 1–3 Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) syndrome. Higher CKM stage tracked with poorer Life's Essential 8 scores and greater carotid arterial injury. 🚨 Strikingly, even Stage 1—excess adiposity—was associated with thicker carotid intima-media. 🎯 The message for clinicians: young adulthood is not a vascular grace period. Primordial prevention must start early.