Researchers have found that the average heart age of American adults is 4 to 7 years older than their chronological age, highlighting the need for a new risk calculator to assess cardiovascular health. This study, conducted by Northwestern Medicine, involved more than 14,100 adults and revealed that heart age is particularly higher among men, Black and Hispanic individuals, and those with lower education and income.
The newly developed tool, known as the PREVENT Risk Age Calculator, is designed to help individuals understand their heart disease risk based on several factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking status, current medications, and the presence of diabetes. The tool translates complex information into a heart age that can be easily understood and compared to one’s actual age. This could be particularly beneficial for patients and clinicians in discussing heart disease risk more effectively, ensuring the right therapies are implemented to prevent heart attacks, strokes, or heart failure events.
Women in the study had an average heart age of 55.4, nearly four years higher than their average chronological age of 51.3, while men had an average heart age of 56.7, seven years higher than their chronological age of 49.7. Notably, over 22% of women and 33% of men with a high-school education or less had a heart age that exceeded their chronological age by more than 10 years. The study’s findings, published in JAMA Cardiology, indicate that heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, and the calculator is intended to support discussions about prevention and improve health outcomes.
The researchers, led by Dr. Sadiya Khan, a preventive cardiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, emphasized that the tool is not a substitute for in-person medical assessments. They also acknowledged that the definition of optimal risk may influence the calculation of PREVENT risk age. Future studies are needed to measure the impact of heart age on healthy lifestyle changes, preventive therapies, and patient outcomes. They noted that the tool requires further testing to determine its effectiveness in promoting public understanding of heart health risks.