A new risk calculator estimates your heart’s age
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- Reviewed by Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
A free online tool that estimates your heart’s age suggests that most adults have a heart that is older than their chronological age, a new study finds.
The tool calculates a person’s heart age using a number of factors that affect heart disease risk, based on the American Heart Association’s PREVENT equation (see “A new tool to predict heart disease risk” in the March 2024 Heart Letter).
Researchers tested the calculator on more than 14,000 adults ages 30 to 79 without cardiovascular disease. On average, women had a heart age of 55.4, while their chronological age was 51.3. Men had a heart age of 56.7 and a chronological age of 49.7.
Traditionally, heart disease risk has been estimated with a calculator that reports the risk of a heart attack over 10-year period. The PREVENT Risk Age Calculator reframes the risk as an age to make it easier for people to understand. But the tool should be used in consultation with a physician, according to the authors. Their report was published online July 30, 2025, by JAMA Cardiology.
Image: © Morsa Images /Getty Images
About the Author
Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
About the Reviewer
Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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