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.