According to the Wall Street Journal, there are a few online calculators, including ones from health organizations such as the U.K.’s National Health Service, Australia’s Heart Foundation, and the Framingham Heart Study. They ask people to enter metrics such as their chronological age, sex, body-mass index, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They then use different statistical models to compare your data against the average and give you an age estimate. A saliva-based biological-age test from Elysium Health gives an overall age estimate and organ-specific scores, including for the heart.
Novos Labs, another company offering a biological-age test, says it plans to add a heart-age component to its blood test later this year. South Korean researchers developed an AI model to predict heart age based on EKG data, which they say will be available in clinics in that country this year. A study of the method in more than 226,000 adults found people whose heart age was estimated at six or more years older than their chronological age had higher rates of death and major cardiovascular events than those at the same or lower. And, of course, the Oura ring will soon offer a feature that estimates users’ cardiovascular age.
So, the question to you, my dear reader, is do you want to know the various ages of your organs? Or is ignorance bliss? Here’s an NPR article that can help you determine whether you’d like to explore this further.
-Chip