Unhealthy Lifestyles and Chronic Conditions Accelerate Heart Aging: New Research Insights

Key Highlights:

• Monitoring heart health is essential for early detection and intervention.
• Cardiac MRI can determine the heart's functional age relative to biological age.
• Unhealthy lifestyles and certain chronic conditions, such as obesity and atrial fibrillation, can cause the heart to age faster.
• Early assessment methods may help prevent major heart problems.

Evaluating heart function and changes can significantly aid doctors and individuals in making informed health decisions. A recent study explored a novel way to measure the "heart’s true" age using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Findings revealed that unhealthy lifestyles and conditions like obesity and atrial fibrillation (AFib) can accelerate heart aging, making it appear several years older than chronological age.

The research, published in the European Heart Journal Open, utilized MRI-based models comparing healthy and at-risk populations across multiple countries. Results showed that while healthy individuals’ heart age aligned with their actual age, those with health issues had significantly older-looking hearts, sometimes up to 45 years older. Notably, obesity was strongly linked to increased heart age, especially in individuals with a BMI of 40 or higher.

Experts emphasize that assessing the heart’s functional age can serve as a powerful motivator for lifestyle changes and help guide early intervention strategies. Although limitations exist, such as the study’s reliance on estimations and short-term data, this approach holds promise for enhancing cardiac health monitoring and disease prevention.

References:

• Study in European Heart Journal Open
• Additional commentary by experts, Cheng-Han Chen, MD

This innovative technique could lead to more personalized and proactive heart care, encouraging individuals to adopt heart-healthy behaviors earlier in life.