Imagine undergoing a medical scan and immediately learning your heart is ageing faster than you are – and that without lifestyle changes, you’re likely to develop cardiovascular problems.
Scientists in the United Kingdom have created a tool to do just that.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) analysed data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from 557 people – including 336 with obesity, high blood pressure, or diabetes – in the UK, Spain, and Singapore.
They measured traits like the size of the heart’s chambers and how well it pumps blood, which are often used to predict cardiovascular outcomes. They then developed a formula to determine the heart’s “functional age”.
On average, the hearts of people with health risk factors were 4.6 years older than their actual ages, according to the study published in the European Heart Journal.
People with obesity experienced even more acceleration in functional heart ageing.
“People with health issues like diabetes or obesity often have hearts that are ageing faster than they should – sometimes by decades,” Dr Pankaj Garg, a cardiologist and the study’s lead researcher, said in a statement.
The tool has some limitations. It doesn’t take into account how long the patients had their health issues, and those studied only included people who lived with these conditions into older age – an issue known as “survivor bias”.
The study group was also small, and the model would likely need to be tested in a broader group of people before it is used.
Even so, the researchers said they hope doctors could eventually use the tool to counsel patients at risk of heart health problems, and to make it easier for them to diagnose cardiovascular diseases.
“By knowing your heart’s true age, patients could get advice or treatments to slow down the ageing process, potentially preventing heart attacks or strokes,” Garg said, citing lifestyle changes like healthy diet and exercise.
“It’s about giving people a fighting chance against heart disease,” he added.
