Most Americans have older age than real age, discover the study

Your heart can be older than you, according to new research.

A study by Northwestern Medicine revealed that most American adults have a “cardiac age” which has several years more than their chronological age.

The gap is broader in men than women, have noted researchers, as well as in blacks and Hispanics and those who have an education and lower income, according to a press release from the university.

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To help people assess their own heart age, researchers have developed a Free online tool That makes the calculation.

Using the American Heart Association’s directives, the calculator of the age of prevention risk determines the risk of cardiac disease of a person on the basis of several factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking status, current drugs and the presence of diabetes.

A study by Northwestern Medicine revealed that most American adults have a “cardiac age” which has several years more than their chronological age. (istock)

The level of risk is provided as an age rather than a percentage.

“Cardiac age, or prevented age, can be particularly useful for patients and clinicians and be more effective in preventing heart disease,” Fox News School of Medicine, author Dr. Sadiya Khan, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said the development of prevention equations, Digital News.

“Many people who should be on medicine to reduce their risk of heart attack, stroke or heart failure are not on these drugs.”

“This translates complex information on the risk of heart attack, stroke or heart failure in the next 10 years in a certain number which is easier to understand and compare with that which we all know – your real age.”

The objective is that the tool helps doctors and patients to discuss the risk of heart disease more effectively, helping to ensure good therapies to prevent heart attacks, strokes or heart failure events, according to Khan.

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The researchers tested the tool on more than 14,100 American adults in the United States, aged 30 to 79, who had no history of heart disease.

Adult data was obtained from the National Survey of Health and Nutrition Examinations (NHANES), which was collected from 2011 to March 2020.

The age -of -risk -risk age calculator determines the risk of a person’s heart disease on the basis of several factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking status, current drugs and diabetes. (istock)

Women had an average cardiac age of 55.4, almost four years more than their average chronological age of 51.3.

Men had an average cardiac age of 56.7, seven years more than their chronological age of 49.7.

More than 22% of women and 33% of men with high school education or less had a heart age that exceeded their chronological age over 10 years old.

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The results were published Wednesday in Jama Cardiology.

Hope is that more information on cardiac health risk could increase preventive care, said Khan, as heart disease has been the country’s main cause for more than 100 years.

Hope is that more information on cardiac health risk could increase preventive care, said the principal researcher, as heart disease has been the country’s main cause for more than 100 years. (istock)

“Many people who should be on medicine to reduce their risk of heart attack, stroke or heart failure are not on these drugs,” noted the preventive cardiologist.

“We hope that this new cardiac calculator will help support discussions on prevention and ultimately improve health for everyone.”

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This can be even more important in young people, noted Khan because they are less likely to be aware of the risk of heart disease.

The calculator is not intended to replace the evaluations in person by a doctor.

Future studies are necessary to measure the impact of heart age on healthy lifestyle changes, preventive therapies and patient results, the team concluded. (istock)

A limitation of the study, noted the researchers, is that “the definition of optimal risk can influence the calculation of the age of the risk of prevention”.

“Alternately, risk-based risk-based centiles can provide a complementary approach to risk communication, but these are influenced by the health of the sub-optimal population,” they wrote.

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“This type of tool should be very tested to determine if it is more easily understood,” Khan told Fox News Digital.

Future studies are necessary to measure the impact of heart age on healthy lifestyle changes, preventive therapies and patient results, the team concluded.