An innovative new online calculator could assist individuals in finding out if their heart is ageing more rapidly than their actual body, according to a report by The New Zealand Herald. As reported by the publication, the free calculator uses a person's few health measures like blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar to estimate their heart's biological age, and could even indicate if their heart is older, younger, or the same age as their chronological age.
This innovation draws on the most up-to-date equations for predicting cardiovascular risk and forms part of a wider trend within the health sciences to investigate "organ ageing." The device, developed by researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, seeks to demystify complicated health data by rendering it more accessible in a user-friendly form.
The Herald quoted Dr. Sadiya Khan, who was behind creating the calculator, as having stated that whereas individuals have difficulty relating to abstract risk percentages, the knowledge that their heart is biologically older than they are may trigger a more immediate alarm. According to the report, telling someone that their heart is 10 years older than they are is more comparable and effective than a figure such as a 10% risk.
The report also stated that Khan and her team had applied a large national health database to measure heart ages in more than 14,000 people in the U.S. They had discovered that the majority of participants, especially men and people of Black or Hispanic origin or with lower education, had hearts biologically older than their age. Men’s average hearts were approximately seven years older than their chronological age, and women's hearts were approximately four years older.
Khan reportedly referred to the fact that the biological age of the heart is particularly noteworthy when it is five or more years beyond a person's calendar age. She had recommended that individuals whose findings report such a disparity should go see their doctors, as the tool may be pointing to untreated or underlying health conditions. She further apparently indicated that numerous individuals with high blood pressure or who meet the qualifications for statins are not being properly treated.
According to the New Zealand Herald report, Khan had also stated that even individuals whose aged heart was similar to or younger than their age could utilise the calculator in order to monitor and sustain their heart health during various phases of life, including menopause.
The publication further stated that this heart-age calculator is one of the first widely available, free tools to convert intricate health information into a public resource. While comparable organ-ageing tests are under development, the majority are not yet in widespread use.
Yet, specialists cited in the report had also pointed out some limitations. Dr. Martha Gulati, a preventive cardiology specialist, had explained that the calculator lacked some female-specific risk factors like pregnancy complications or changes during menopause. She had stated that whereas the tool assists some individuals to better comprehend their risk, it cannot necessarily capture women's cardiovascular health profiles.
Professor Ulrik Wisloff, quoted by the Herald, had also expressed dismay at the exclusion of exercise and aerobic fitness from the calculator. He had commented that in spite of strong evidence for the relationship between exercise and heart health, such variables were still not being included in popular models such as the Framingham Risk Score. His team had developed a distinct endurance age calculator and oxygen uptake.
Even with its limitations, the heart-age calculator, as reported by The New Zealand Herald, is being viewed as a good and affordable step towards enhancing public awareness of cardiovascular health. Not only does the tool give one an idea of how his heart is ageing, but it can also prompt one to change his lifestyle to slow down the process.
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