Unhealthy habits and obesity could potentially accelerate a person's heart's aging by 5 to 45 years.
Evaluating heart health and spotting potential issues early on is vital for finding effective interventions. Recently, a study looked into a way to measure the functional age of people's hearts compared to their biological age.
This exploration centered around a model based on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The findings revealed some shocking insights: unhealthy lifestyles, health conditions such as obesity and atrial fibrillation (AFib), can cause the heart to age more rapidly.
The study, published in the European Heart Journal Open, gathered participants with and without comorbidities, like high blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity. Researchers analyzed several components of heart structure and function using cardiac MRI.
Turns out, the unhealthy group experienced a higher median ejection fraction, indicating the left ventricle was pumping out more blood. The final model considered left atrial end-systolic volume and left atrial ejection fraction, which both assess the heart's left upper chamber's function, significantly related to age among 169 healthy participants.
Surprising results showed that the functional heart age of unhealthy participants was, on average, about 4.6 years older than their real age. Participants with severe obesity had functional heart ages 45 years higher than their biological age, while those with atrial fibrillation saw their heart ages increase compared to healthy participants.
However, in certain age groups, other comorbidities had opposite effects on heart age. For example, participants with high blood pressure and diabetes had increased functional heart age compared to healthy participants the same age, but this trend reversed in older groups.
Dr. Pankaj Garg, study author and Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, explained the findings:
"We have discovered an equation-a simple math formula-that uses movies from heart MRI scans to figure out how old your heart looks. For healthy folks, their heart age matches their real age. But if someone has [conditions] like high blood pressure, diabetes, a wonky heartbeat, or extra weight, their heart can look way older-about 4.6 years older on average. For people with a lot of extra weight, their hearts looked up to 45 years older!"
However, this research has its limitations. The work involved estimations, and there's a risk of survivor bias, which may underestimate how comorbidities affect older people. Furthermore, researchers did not measure how long participants had these measured comorbidities, leaving room for variation among unhealthy participants.
Determining the functional age of the heart, particularly through noninvasive heart MRI scans, could serve as a powerful preventive measure. It may motivate patients to improve their lifestyles, identify patients at risk for future clinical events, and evaluate response to clinical therapeutics and interventions.
By comparing a patient's functional heart age with their chronological age, clinicians can communicate cardiovascular risk effectively and encourage lifestyle changes to mitigate progressive heart damage.
- The study, focusing on cardiovascular disease, used a model based on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate heart health and aging.
- Unhealthy lifestyles and conditions like obesity and atrial fibrillation (AFib) were found to accelerate heart aging, making the heart appear older than it actually is.
- Researchers analyzed several components of heart structure and function using cardiac MRI, finding that unhealthy participants on average had a functional heart age roughly 4.6 years older than their real age.
- Participants with severe obesity had functional heart ages that were significantly higher, up to 45 years older than their biological age, while those with atrial fibrillation also saw their heart ages increase.
- For certain age groups, some comorbidities like high blood pressure and diabetes had opposite effects on heart age, with the trend reversing in older groups.
- Dr. Pankaj Garg, the study's author, explained that this research has uncovered a simple math formula to determine a person's functional heart age using heart MRI scans.
- This method could act as a preventive measure for patients, motivating them to improve their lifestyles and identify those at risk for future clinical events.
- By comparing a patient's functional heart age with their chronological age, medical professionals can better communicate cardiovascular risk and encourage lifestyle changes to prevent progressive heart damage.
