CDC: Most Americans Have Hearts Older Than Themselves

The American is not young at heart anymore. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a put a number on adult American hearts that for most people is higher than the chronological age of the person.

According to ABC News, CDC determined heart age of over 500,000 participants in the Framingham Heart Study by examining risk profiles including whether a person smoked, existence of conditions like diabetes and hypertension besides body mass index (BMI). They found that on average men had a heart 7.8 years older than their real age while women's hearts were 5.4 years older.

"Because so many U.S. adults don't understand their cardiovascular disease risk, they are missing out on early opportunities to prevent future heart attacks or strokes. About three in four heart attacks and strokes are due to risk factors that increase heart age, so it's important to continue focusing on efforts to improve heart health and increase access to early and affordable detection and treatment resources nationwide," said Barbara A. Bowman, director of CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.

CDC's exercise revealed that the age-gap between heart and rest of the body was highest, 11 years, for both male and female African-Americans. It was also found that education and household income tend to decrease heart age.

"Too many U.S. adults have a heart age years older than their real age, increasing their risk of heart disease and stroke," said CDC Director Tom Frieden.