Canada could be heading for even higher rates of heart disease, suggests a new report that finds more young Canadians are at serious risk of the disease.

The report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that the risk factors for cardiovascular disease -- such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity -- are rising among younger people between 12 to 50 years of age.

The study looked at Canadians aged 12 and up from all socioeconomic and ethnic groups. It found an estimated 1.29 million Canadians reported having heart disease in 2005. That's a 19.3 per cent increase among men and 2.1 per cent increase among women compared with 1994.

Rates of high blood pressure were up 77 per cent between 1994 and 2005 among both sexes, diabetes was up 45 per cent over the same period, and obesity rates rose 18 per cent.

The one bit of good news was that smoking rates fell 25 per cent from 2005 to 1994.

The authors suggest that with more young Canadians with heart disease risk factors, cardiovascular disease rates are going to continue to rise, sending more Canadians to an early grave.

"Projections suggest that the rising prevalence of obesity in the current generation of adolescents will increase the prevalence of coronary heart disease by five to 16 per cent in 2035, and may for the first time in two centuries significantly reduce life expectancy in the 21st century," said Dr. Douglas Lee of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and coauthors.

Lee notes that the trends in Canada are quite different from those in the United States, where some risk factors, such as hypertension, are declining.

"In Canada, risk factors have not reached a plateau, suggesting that these increases may continue to worsen over time," he said in a release.

People from lower income groups had the most risk factors for heart disease. But the prevalence of obesity is increasing in all socioeconomic groups, while the rates of hypertension have nearly doubled.

Diabetes is also on the rise among almost all income groups, although the gap between the richest and the poorest is widening over time.

"This study has implications for all Canadians because the surveys were conducted in a representative sample of the Canadian population, including all ethnic groups," write the authors.

The authors suggest that Canadians under 50 who haven't considered themselves at risk for heart disease should take action by scheduling routine medical exams and talking to their doctor about ways to reduce their risk of dying of Canada's No. 1 killer.

They also suggest governments take steps to encourage healthy eating, increasing community programming for physical activity in low-income areas and making cities more pedestrian-friendly.