Harmful lifestyle choices and increased body weight could lead to accelerated aging of the heart by up to 45 years.
Determining the health of your ticker is crucial for catching heart issues early and implementing effective interventions. Researchers recently studied a way to calculate the functional age of people's hearts compared to their biological age using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The MRI-based Age Assessment
This study utilized an MRI-based model to gauge the age of people's hearts and examined healthy aging versus unhealthy aging. The researchers pointed out that modifiable risk factors, including high blood pressure, may speed up the heart's aging process. One potential tool to look at the heart's appearance and functionality is cardiac MRI.
Researchers looked at a reference population of 191 healthy individuals and compared them to a test group of 366 participants with at least one comorbidity, like high blood pressure or obesity. Additionally, they used another group of 25 people as a "preliminary external validation" cohort. Participants originated from five different locations across three countries.
Participants underwent several assessments of heart structure and function. Researchers subsequently developed a model to help determine the age of participants' hearts and conducted statistical analyses.
The differences between healthy and unhealthy groups were prominent. For instance, the unhealthy group showed higher median left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF), which refers to how much blood the left ventricle expels with each heartbeat.
The final model centered on left atrial end-systolic volume (LA_ESV) and left atrial ejection fraction (LA_EF), which both evaluate the function of the left upper chamber of the heart. These parameters were found to be highly relevant to age in the 169 healthy participants.
Health Conditions and Premature Heart Aging
Researchers observed that healthy participants' heart ages closely matched their true age. However, unhealthy participants exhibited heart ages exceeding their chronological age. The MRI-calculated heart ages were nearly five years older than the chronological age of these participants.
Obesity appeared to increase functional heart age, with increased weight leading to an escalation in heart years. Participants with BMIs of 40 or higher had a functional heart age 45 years ahead of their chronological age. For participants with atrial fibrillation, heart functional age surpassed that of healthy participants.
Functional heart age was, at times, higher for other comorbidities in specific age categories. In participants aged 30–69, those with high blood pressure demonstrated increased functional heart age compared to healthy participants in the same age group. Similarly, diabetes increased functional heart age for participants aged 30–69, with the most significant increase observed in the 40–49-year-old group. However, in the 70–85-year-old age group, participants with diabetes and high blood pressure had lower functional heart ages than healthy participants of the same age.
Dr. Pankaj Garg, the study's lead author, accentuated a few key findings to MNT.
"We've discovered an equation-a simple math formula-that uses data from heart MRI scans to determine the heart's age. Healthy participants have hearts that match their actual age, but if someone has [conditions] like high blood pressure, diabetes, an irregular heartbeat, or extra weight, their heart can look significantly older. On average, it's 4.6 years older, but for folks with a lot of extra weight, their hearts looked up to 45 years older!" - Dr. Pankaj Garg
Study Limitations
While this work represents an exciting step towards enhanced cardiac health monitoring, it has limitations. First, this research was primarily estimations and established the functional age of the heart. Additionally, given the study's non-long-term nature, there's a higher risk for survivor bias that may underestimate the impact of comorbidities on older people. Lastly, researchers did not account for factors like exercise and diet and acknowledged potential bias and variation within the unhealthy group due to medical treatments.
In conclusion, this research offers valuable insights into understanding and preventing the premature aging of the heart. By determining the functional age of the heart, physicians and individuals can make informed decisions about heart health and take proactive measures to promote heart health. Future research, especially long-term studies, will likely provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of lifestyle changes and the potential of this method for clinical application.
- Modifiable risk factors, such as high blood pressure, may accelerate the aging process of the heart.
- The MRI-based model is a potential tool to examine the heart's appearance and functionality.
- Researchers analyzed participants from five different locations across three countries.
- The study compared a reference population of healthy individuals to a test group with at least one comorbidity, like high blood pressure or obesity.
- A preliminary external validation cohort of 25 people was also used.
- Participants underwent several assessments of heart structure and function.
- Dr. Pankaj Garg, the study's lead author, stated that the research has discovered a math formula using data from heart MRI scans to determine the heart's age.
- Obesity seems to increase functional heart age, with excessive weight causing an increase in heart years.
- Participants with atrial fibrillation had a functional heart age higher than that of healthy participants.
- In specific age categories, certain comorbidities led to an increase in functional heart age, particularly high blood pressure and diabetes in participants aged 30–69.
- Long-term studies will likely provide insight into the effectiveness of lifestyle changes and the potential of this method for clinical application in heart health and wellness, mental health, and weight management, ultimately contributing to better cardiovascular health.
