Harmful lifestyle choices and obesity could potentially accelerate a person's heart's aging by up to 45 years.
Let's dive into the world of heart aging, shall we? A recent study aimed to tackle a crucial question: how can we measure the functional age of people's hearts compared to their biological age?
The researchers based their findings on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the results were quite intriguing.
There's no denying that certain health conditions, such as obesity and atrial fibrillation (AFib), and leading an unhealthy lifestyle, can speed up the heart's aging process.
The study, published in the European Heart Journal Open, used a functioning reference population of 191 participants and compared them to a testing population of 366 participants who had at least one comorbidity, like high blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity.
Researchers discovered some striking heart differences between the healthy and unhealthy groups. For instance, the unhealthy group had a higher median ejection fraction, which involves how much blood the left ventricle is pumping out when it contracts.
The final model the researchers used considered left atrial end-systolic volume and left atrial ejection fraction, which both evaluate the function of the left upper chamber of the heart. These two factors were functional parameters significantly related to age among 169 healthy participants.
So, what does this all mean? Obesity appeared to increase functional heart age, with more weight increasing heart years. Participants with a body mass index of 40 or higher had a functional heart age 45 years higher than their chronological age. For participants with AFib, heart functional age was also higher than it was for healthy participants.
In conclusion, determining the functional age of the heart using cardiac MRI could be a helpful preventive measure. By comparing a patient's functional heart age with their chronological age, clinicians could effectively communicate 'cardiovascular risk' and motivate patients toward preventive strategies like weight management, blood pressure control, and diabetes management.
This research is an exciting step towards more effective cardiac health monitoring. However, it does have its limitations, such as the use of estimations, the possibility of survivor bias, and room for refinement in the age calculation model.
In the future, longitudinal studies and assessing the impact of lifestyle changes could further improve our understanding of heart aging. Although we still have lots to learn, this innovative approach opens up a world of possibilities for earlier heart disease detection and promoting heart-healthy actions.
- Seniors and others dealing with medical-conditions, such as obesity and other heart disease, may find their hearts aging faster than expected, according to a recent study.
- The researchers used cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the functional age of people's hearts compared to their biological age, and the results were quite intriguing.
- Those with unhealthy lifestyles, like obesity, can speed up the heart's aging process, resulting in higher heart years and a functional heart age that exceeds their chronological age.
- For instance, participants with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher had a functional heart age 45 years higher than their chronological age, as discovered by the study.
- Atrial fibrillation (AFib) also contributed to a higher functional heart age compared to healthy participants, the study revealed.
- Fitness and exercise, particularly sports, can play a crucial role in mitigating heart aging and reducing the risk of various heart diseases.
- By comparing a patient's functional heart age to their chronological age, clinicians can effectively communicate cardiovascular risk, motivating patients to adopt preventive strategies like weight management, blood pressure control, and diabetes management.
- Science continues to advance in the field of cardiovascular health, and research like this could lead to more effective cardiac health monitoring and earlier heart disease detection.
- With continued research, particularly long-term studies and analysis of the impact of lifestyle changes, we can better understand heart aging and work towards promoting heart-healthy actions for health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise.
