It's good to be young at heart, we're told, but guess what — most of us are older at heart than we are in years on this planet.
That's what a shocking study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found when it analyzed mountains of risk data that compared the "heart age" measure to people's chronological age. Fully 75 percent of Americans, the CDC said, have heart ages older than their actual age, based on the data.
That's not good news for those who fall in the 75 percent category.
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What is heart ago? CDC defines it as "the calculated age of a person's cardiovascular system based on his or her risk factor profile. The risks include high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes status, and body mass index as an indicator for obesity."
CDC claims its study is the first to delve into the subject. It sliced and diced the information and found that "heart age varies by race/ethnicity, gender, region, and other sociodemographic characteristics." Overall, an estimated 69 million Americans between the ages of 30 and 74 have hearts older than their driver's license would indicate.
Key findings in the report include:
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Overall, the average heart age for adult men is eight years older than their chronological age, compared to five years older for women.
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Although heart age exceeds chronological age for all race/ethnic groups, it is highest among African-American men and women (average of 11 years older for both).
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Among both U.S. men and women, excess heart age increases with age and decreases with greater education and household income.
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There are geographic differences in average heart age across states. Adults in the southern U.S. typically have higher heart ages. For example, Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Alabama have the highest percentage of adults with a heart age five years or more over their actual age, while Utah, Colorado, California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts have the lowest percentage.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
