Unhealthy lifestyle habits and obesity could potentially accelerate the heart's aging process by up to 45 years.
Evaluating cardiac health has a crucial role in catching heart problems early and finding effective interventions. A recent study delved into determining the functional age of people's hearts, comparing it to their biological age.
This research, published in the European Heart Journal Open, employed a method based on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The study found that unhealthy lifestyles, certain conditions like obesity, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation (AFib), and poor cardiovascular health behaviors can speed up the functional aging of the heart.
Researchers compared a healthy reference population with a test group having comorbidities, analyzing heart structure and function components using MRI. They developed a formula to test heart aging for participants and assessed distinct heart differences between the healthy and unhealthy groups.
The findings demonstrated that obesity appeared to enhance the functional age of the heart, with greater weight adding more "heart years." People with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher had a functional heart age almost 45 years higher than their actual age. Participants with AFib also showed an increase in functional heart age compared to healthy participants.
In participants between the ages of 30 and 69, people with high blood pressure and diabetes experienced an increased functional heart age compared to healthy participants in the same age range. Researchers noted some limitations in their study, such as using estimations, survivor bias, and lack of long-term data.
Despite these limitations, the study offers a promising approach to more effective cardiac health monitoring. Using cardiac MRI could be a helpful preventive measure, motivating patients to adopt heart-healthy habits, identify potential risks, and monitor their treatment progress. Simply put, an increased heart functional age compared to chronological age could serve as a red flag for potential heart issues.
In the words of study author Pankaj Garg, MD, PhD, "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!"
- Unhealthy lifestyles, obesity, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and poor cardiovascular health behaviors can accelerate the functional aging of the heart.
- The study employed a method based on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the functional age of people's hearts.
- The researchers compared a healthy reference population with a test group having comorbidities, analyzing heart structure and function components using MRI.
- They developed a formula to test heart aging for participants and assessed distinct heart differences between the healthy and unhealthy groups.
- Obesity seemed to enhance the functional age of the heart, with greater weight adding more "heart years."
- People with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher had a functional heart age almost 45 years higher than their actual age.
- Participants with atrial fibrillation also showed an increase in functional heart age compared to healthy participants.
- In the age group of 30 to 69, people with high blood pressure and diabetes experienced an increased functional heart age.
- This research, published in the European Heart Journal Open, offers a promising approach to more effective cardiac health monitoring.
- Using cardiac MRI could be a helpful preventive measure, motivating patients to adopt heart-healthy habits, identify potential risks, and monitor their treatment progress.
- An increased heart functional age compared to chronological age could serve as a red flag for potential heart issues.
- The study also highlighted the importance of mental health, nutrition, weight management, and fitness-and-exercise in maintaining cardiovascular health and overall health-and-wellness.
