MRI can reveal the 'true' age of your heart

Scientists have developed a way of uncovering the ‘true age’ of your heart, with new research showing how an MRI scan can reveal your heart’s functional age — and how unhealthy lifestyles can dramatically accelerate this figure. It is hoped that the team’s findings could transform how heart disease is diagnosed, catching problems before they become deadly.

Led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), the research team collaborated with hospitals in the UK, Spain and Singapore. They studied MRI scans from 557 people — 191 healthy individuals and 366 with conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.

Using advanced imaging, the researchers measured things like the size and strength of the heart’s chambers. Then, they built a formula to calculate the heart’s ‘functional age’ and checked it against healthy hearts to make sure it was accurate.

“We found that an MRI scan can reveal your heart’s ‘functional age’ — how old it acts, not how old you are,” said lead researcher Dr Pankaj Garg, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School.

“In healthy people, we found that heart age was similar to chronological age. But for patients with things like diabetes, hypertension, obesity and atrial fibrillation, their functional heart age was significantly higher.

“For example, a 50-year-old with high blood pressure might have a heart that works like it’s 55.

“People with health issues like diabetes or obesity often have hearts that are aging faster than they should — sometimes by decades. So, this could help doctors step in early to stop heart disease in its tracks.”

Garg said the new technique is a “game changer” for keeping hearts healthier for longer, giving doctors a powerful tool to look inside the heart like never before and spot trouble early — before symptoms even start.

“By knowing your heart’s true age, patients could get advice or treatments to slow down the aging process, potentially preventing heart attacks or strokes,” he said.

“It could also be the wake-up call people need to take better care of themselves — whether that’s eating healthier, exercising more, or following their doctor’s advice. It’s about giving people a fighting chance against heart disease.”

PhD student Hosam Assadi, also from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said, “It’s thrilling to see how this MRI technique could change lives. We’ve found a way to spot hearts that are aging too fast, and that could mean catching problems early enough to fix them. I hope this could become a standard check-up for hearts in the future.”

The research has been published in European Heart Journal - Open.

Image credit: iStock.com/Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen