A heart attack, known earlier as a disease of the old, is now strikingly common in people aged 40 and below, finds a study. The study compared people aged 41-50 years and 40 or younger heart attack survivors and found that among patients who suffer a heart attack at a young age overall is 40 or younger. In addition, the proportion of people below 40 having a heart attack has been increasing, rising by 2 per cent each year for the last 10 years. It used to be incredibly rare to see anyone under age 40 come in with a