American adults’ hearts are much older than they should be
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average adult in the United States has a heart that is seven years older than it should be. 'Heart age' is a metric used by the CDC to determine if an individual is at greater risk for heart disease than they should be at any given point during their adults lives. Factors such as body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, whether or not a person smokes or has smoked in the past, and if that person has diabetes all help to determine heart age. The CDC indicates that millions of people in their 40s and 50s who live in the United States have high blood pressure and more than 35 million U.S. adults are current smokers. Those variables increase heart age, making individuals more vulnerable to heart disease even in middle-age. Individuals interested in getting an estimate of their heart age can visit the Heart Foundation at heartfoundation.org.au/heartage- calculator. Adults also are urged to speak with their physicians about their risk for heart disease and what they can do to lower that risk.
