Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have developed a revolutionary new method of using MRI to determine the ‘true age’ of your heart. A new study shows how an MRI scan can reveal the functional age of the heart – and how an unhealthy lifestyle may dramatically accelerate this reading. It is hoped the findings could revolutionize the diagnosis of heart disease, and offer millions of people a perspective on life by detecting problems before they become fatal. The team describes their technique as “groundbreaking”.
In Patients With Diseases, the Functional Heart Age Was Aignificantly Higher
Lead researcher Dr. Pankaj Garg, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School and a cardiologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said: “Imagine finding out that your heart is older than you are. This is often the case for people with conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity. With our new MRI technique, we don’t just count your birthdays, we also measure how well your heart is working.” Led by the UEA, the research team worked with hospitals in the UK, Spain and Singapore. They examined MRI scans of 557 people – 191 healthy people and 366 people with conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.
Using the latest imaging techniques, the scientists measured the size and strength of the heart chambers, among other things. They then developed a formula to calculate the “functional age” of the heart and tested it on healthy hearts to ensure its accuracy. The researchers found that an MRI scan can show the ‘functional age’ of the heart – how old it is, not how old the person is. In healthy people, they have found that heart age corresponds to chronological age. However, in patients with diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and atrial fibrillation, the functional heart age was significantly higher.
MRI Technology Could Change Lives and Help People Take Better Care of Their Hearts
For example, a 50-year-old with high blood pressure may have a heart that functions like that of a 55-year-old. People with health problems such as diabetes or obesity often have hearts that age faster than they should – sometimes by decades. This could help doctors intervene early to stop heart disease. This is a milestone in maintaining a healthier heart over time. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. This new MRI method gives doctors a powerful tool to see inside the heart like never before and detect problems early – even before symptoms appear. By knowing the true age of their heart, patients can receive advice or treatment to slow down the ageing process and potentially prevent heart attacks or strokes.
It could also be a wake-up call for people to take better care of themselves – whether that’s by eating healthier, exercising more or following doctor’s recommendations. It’s about giving people a fighting chance against heart disease. PhD student Hosam Assadi, also from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “It’s exciting to see how this MRI technique could change lives. We have found a way to detect hearts that are ageing too quickly and this could mean that problems are detected early enough to fix them. I hope this could become a standard examination for the heart in the future.”