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4w ago

Northwestern’s ‘Heart Age’ Calculator Goes Live as Researchers Probe Its Clinical Impact

Clinicians can now frame cardiovascular risk as a heart age metric that may better drive prevention

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA - MARCH 28: People exercise along a bike path on March 28, 2020 in Huntington Beach, California. California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a ‘stay at home’ order on March 19 for California’s 40 million residents, with exceptions for essential activities, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Following its publication in JAMA Cardiology on July 30, researchers launched a free online tool for clinicians to calculate patients’ heart age, validated on data from over 14,000 NHANES participants.
  • The calculator converts blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes status and smoking history into a single heart age figure to simplify risk discussions.
  • Validation showed women’s heart ages averaged 4.1 years above their chronological ages and men’s averaged 7 years above.
  • Analyses exposed pronounced socioeconomic and racial gaps, with Black men’s heart ages 8.5 years above their true ages and Hispanic men’s 7.9 years above.
  • Investigators have begun follow-on studies to determine whether reframing risk as heart age improves patient engagement, preventive therapy uptake and long-term outcomes.