People with plaque in their neck arteries are much more likely to have heart disease — about 8.6 times more likely — even after accounting for age and gender.

Almost half of adults in Finland have buildup in their neck arteries that gets much more common as people get older — by age 70, nearly everyone has it, but kids don’t have it at all.

About 4 out of every 10 young adults with early signs of artery clogging don't have high cholesterol or high blood pressure—so our usual heart risk checks might be missing a lot of people who already have early heart disease.

If you're under 40 and have high 'bad' cholesterol or high blood pressure, you're more likely to have buildup in the neck arteries that supply your brain — a sign that heart disease might be starting early.

If healthy adults have higher 'bad' cholesterol levels, they’re more likely to show early signs of artery hardening, like thicker artery walls or plaque buildup in the neck arteries.

When researchers used ultrasound to look at the neck arteries of former NFL players, they found that about 4 out of 10 had early plaque buildup - this is a hidden form of heart disease that doesn't cause any symptoms yet.