Unhealthy life habits and chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension can accelerate the biological aging of the heart in decades. This is what a new study by researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in England. The work was recently published in Open European Heart Journal.
The discovery, made with the help of magnetic resonance imaging, can transform the way heart disease are diagnosed, assisting in the early diagnosis of chronic diseases that, if not properly treated, can be fatal.
The researchers analyzed 557 magnetic resonance imaging exams – 191 healthy individuals and 366 with conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.
Using advanced images, they measured factors such as the size and resistance of the cardiac chambers. They then created a formula for calculating the “functional age” of the heart and compared with healthy hearts to ensure greater accuracy.
“We find that an magnetic resonance imaging can reveal the ‘functional age’ of your heart – how old is he acts, not how old you are,” says Pankaj Garg, lead researcher of the study and consultant consultant at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
“In healthy people, we found that cardiac age was similar to chronological age. But in patients with diabetes, hypertension, obesity and atrial fibrillation, functional cardiac age was significantly higher,” he explains. “For example, a 50 -year -old with high blood pressure may have a heart that works as if he had 55,” he adds.
According to the researchers, people with health problems such as obesity and diabetes often have hearts that get older than they should – sometimes decades. In their view, the discovery can help doctors intervene early to interrupt the development of heart disease.
“Heart diseases are one of the biggest causes of death in the world. Our new magnetic resonance imaging offers doctors a powerful tool to examine the inside of the heart like never before and detecting problems early, even before symptoms appear,” says the researcher.
“Upon learning the true age of your heart, patients can get advice or treatments to slow the aging process, potentially preventing heart attacks or strokes,” he adds.
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This content was originally published in diabetes and obesity can get older in decades, suggests a study on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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