AI Can Guess Your Heart's 'Real' Age and Predict Your Health Risks

You might know your age in years, but what about the age of your heart? Scientists have discovered a way to use artificial intelligence (AI) to figure out your heart's "biological age" – how well it's actually working, rather than just how many years it's been beating. And this new technology could help doctors predict your risk of serious heart problems and even death.

Think of it like this: a 50-year-old with poor health habits might have a heart that functions like a 60-year-old's, while a very healthy 50-year-old could have a heart that seems more like a 40-year-old's.   

Researchers at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) presented their groundbreaking study at the EHRA 2025 conference. They used AI to analyze the data from nearly half a million standard heart tests, called electrocardiograms (ECGs). From this massive amount of information, they created a smart computer program that can predict the heart's biological age.   

The study revealed some striking connections. When the AI estimated that someone's heart was seven years older than their actual age, their risk of dying from any cause increased by a significant 62%. They were also twice as likely to experience major heart problems like heart attacks or strokes.   

On the flip side, if the AI found that a person's heart was seven years younger than their real age, their risk of death and major heart issues was lower.   

Associate Professor Yong-Soo Baek, from Inha University Hospital in South Korea, who led the research, explained, "Our research showed that when the biological age of the heart exceeded its chronological age by seven years, the risk of all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events increased sharply." He added, "Conversely, if the algorithm estimated the biological heart as seven years younger than the chronological age, that reduced the risk of death and major adverse cardiovascular events."   

This new technology could be a game-changer for catching heart problems early. By identifying people with "older" hearts, doctors could suggest more intensive treatments and lifestyle changes to help prevent serious issues down the road.   

Professor Baek believes that using AI in this way could lead to a "potential paradigm shift in cardiovascular risk assessment."   

The AI program was trained using a huge collection of over 400,000 ECGs taken over 15 years and was then tested on another 97,000 ECGs to make sure it was accurate. The researchers also found that people with weaker hearts tended to have a higher biological heart age according to the AI.   

While this research is exciting, Professor Baek pointed out that more studies with even larger numbers of people are needed to confirm these findings. However, this study offers a promising new way to understand and predict heart health using a common and simple test like the ECG.   

This development highlights the growing role of AI in medicine, offering the potential for earlier diagnoses and more personalized ways to keep our hearts healthy.