New Tool Can Calculate Heart Age and Reveal Hidden Cardiovascular Risks: JAMA

Your heart could be aging faster than the rest of your body, according to new research published in JAMA Cardiology. The study, conducted by researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, found that many U.S. adults have a "heart age" several years older than their actual age. The age gap, the researchers noted, is even more pronounced in men than in women.

To make these findings more accessible and actionable, the research team developed a free online tool called the PREVENT Risk Age Calculator. This tool estimates a person’s heart age based on key health information such as cholesterol levels, blood pressure, BMI, medications, smoking habits, and diabetes status. Instead of presenting risk as a percentage, the calculator expresses it as an age, making it easier to understand.

"Heart age, or PREVENT age, may be particularly useful for patients and clinicians and be more effective in preventing heart disease," said senior author Dr. Sadiya Khan, the Magerstadt Professor of Cardiovascular Epidemiology at Northwestern. "It translates complex information about the risk of heart attack, stroke or heart failure over the next 10 years into a number that is easier to understand and compare with one we are all familiar with – your actual age."