How your 20s and 30s shape your heart health

Cardiovascular disease doesn’t announce itself. By the time symptoms appear, years of gradual wear have already happened. That’s why researchers are shifting focus earlier — not to when the heart fails, but to when it starts changing.

How nitric oxide works

Nitric oxide is a molecule your body produces to keep blood vessels flexible and responsive. It regulates blood flow, delivers oxygen, and supports the thin layer of cells that keep your arteries flexible.

Nitric oxide production peaks in your twenties and declines steadily after. That decline isn’t dramatic, but it’s cumulative. Over time, less nitric oxide means stiffer vessels, slower circulation, and a heart that has to work harder to do the same job.

“If you’re young, healthy, and feeling good — that’s exactly when to start caring about your heart,” says Joel Kocher, CEO of Humann. “Supporting your body’s ability to produce nitric oxide is one of the simplest, most effective ways to keep your cardiovascular system strong.”

Kocher tells us interventions that support nitric oxide production don’t always have to be complicated: regular movement, nitrate-rich foods like beets and leafy greens, and consistent sleep. These habits don’t reverse aging, but they slow the rate at which your cardiovascular system stiffens.

The shift toward prevention

Traditional cardiology treats disease after damage is done, but newer models treat circulation and metabolic health as factors that should be monitored long before diagnosis.

The American Heart Association’s inclusion of sleep in its Life’s Essential 8 reflects this. Sleep quality, duration, and regularity, for example, are now considered as relevant to cardiovascular risk as cholesterol or blood pressure. Poor sleep disrupts inflammatory markers, elevates cortisol, and impairs the body’s ability to repair vascular tissue overnight.

Why it matters

The habits you build during these years don’t prevent aging, but they can shape how your cardiovascular system responds to stress and illness over time.

Movement keeps vessels flexible. Sleep allows repair. Nutrition supports circulation. Plus, tracking markers like blood pressure, resting heart rate, and cholesterol reveals shifts years before symptoms appear. The earlier you notice those patterns, the more room you may have to adjust.