A new tool that assesses heart health reveals that more than half of American adults have hearts that are older than their chronological age.
The "heart age calculator" evaluates cardiac health using standard measures like blood pressure and cholesterol levels to help predict a patient's cardiac future.
Cardiologists posted the method for the calculator in a new research letter in the medical journal JAMA Cardiology.
The formula uses age, sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, a measure of kidney health, diabetes, smoking and the use of heart-related prescription medications.
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Researchers applied this new risk calculator to 14,000 Americans participating in a long-running national health survey, finding that the majority have hearts older than their actual age.
The research found that women had a heart age of 55.4 compared to a chronological age of 51.3. Meanwhile, men's average heart age was 56.7 compared to a chronological age of 49.7.
The data found gaps related to ethnicity and education levels in the heart ages verus chronological age as well.
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Medical experts are proposing this tool to doctors as a more effective way to communicate heart health risks to patients.
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