Zhang Y, et al. - In this investigation involving 36,030 patients, researchers assessed if young adult exposures to risk factors are independently connected to later life cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, accounting for later life exposures. They pooled data from six US cohorts with observations from young adulthood to later life and imputed risk factor trajectories for low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterols, systolic and diastolic BP for each participant from the age of 18. There were 4,570 coronary heart disease, 5,119 heart failure, and 2,862 stroke events during a median follow-up of 17 years. Young adult LDL ≥100 mg/dl vs <100 mg/dl correlated with a 64% higher risk for CHD, independent of later adult exposures; young adult SBP ≥130 mm Hg vs <120 mm Hg correlated with a 37% increased risk for HF and young adult DBP ≥80 mm Hg vs <80 mm Hg) correlated with a 21% increased risk of HF. In addition to later adult exposures, cumulative young adult exposures to elevated systolic BP, diastolic BP, and LDL were linked with enhanced risk of CVD in later life. These findings suggest that investment in programs intended to control modifiable risk factors in young adulthood could reduce future CVD burden.