A recent study conducted by researchers at Northwestern Medicine reveals that the cognitive aging of many American adults is occurring at a pace exceeding their chronological age, sometimes by more than a decade.
This study, published in the journal Jama Cardiology, utilized a cutting-edge calculator to estimate the “heart age” of over 14,000 U.S. adults devoid of prior cardiovascular diseases.
Available for free, these tools can be accessed online. By translating risk percentages into age, individuals can more easily reassess their risk scores and comprehend how their lifestyle and health choices influence their long-term heart health.
“Traditional percentage-based estimates can often feel abstract and hard to interpret,” noted senior author Professor Sadiya Khan in an interview with BBC Science Focus.
“We believe that presenting the risk of heart disease in terms of age serves as a valuable supplementary tool that is more intuitive. It’s simpler for individuals to grasp whether their heart age is ‘older’ or ‘younger’ than their actual age.”
The calculator leverages basic health metrics, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking status, diabetes, and more to compute a person’s heart age, based on equations formulated by the American Heart Association.
In this study, women exhibited an average heart age that was 4.1 years older than their chronological age, while men showed an average gap of seven years.
However, the discrepancies were more pronounced among marginalized communities. For instance, Black men had a heart age that was 8.5 years older than their chronological age, compared to 6.4 years for white men.
Hispanic and Black women exhibited heart ages significantly older than their white and Asian counterparts, and individuals with lower income and educational backgrounds were similarly impacted.
“These disparities are expected given the heightened risk of cardiac diseases in minority groups or those facing social disadvantages. However, they emphasize the urgent need for action,” Khan stated.
“Recognizing individuals with an ‘older’ heart age can prompt them to take immediate steps to prioritize preventive measures.”
Khan envisions that this tool will be integrated into primary care, facilitating discussions about health risks and encouraging healthier lifestyle choices. “The exciting aspect of this tool is the multitude of actions individuals can take,” she mentioned.
“We aim for this to empower people to optimize their heart health, promoting healthier aging and extended health spans.”
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Sadiya S Khan is a professor of cardiovascular epidemiology at Northwestern University’s School of Preventive Medicine. She is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases and holds an active medical license in Illinois.
Source: www.sciencefocus.com
