For Most U.S.Adults, "Heart Age" Exceeds Real Age

Do you know your “heart age?” It might be a better predictor of heart attack and stroke than your real age, according to researchers at the the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The report concluded found that three out of four American adults have a heart age older than their actual age. The researchers calculated heart age based on heart disease risk factors, namely smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

After gathering used risk factor data from all 50 states along with data from a large, ongoing heart study, researchers found that nearly 69 million adults between ages 30 to 74 have a heart age older than their actual age. Various factors also showed differences among populations. The findings showed:

• Average heart age for men: eight years older
• Average heart age for women: five years older
• Disparities were found for all racial and ethnic groups but African-American men and women had an average heart age that was 11 years older than their actual age
• People in the U.S. South tended to have higher heart ages than people in other areas of the country
• Worst states for heart age (adults with heart age of five years or more older): Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Alabama
• Best states for heart age (lowest percentage of adults with heart ages greater than their actual age by more than five years): Utah, Colorado, California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts

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