Your heart may be ageing faster than your birth certificate suggests, and for many Americans, especially those with lower income or education, that age gap is alarmingly wide. According to a study published in JAMA Cardiology on July 30, 2025, the average American’s cardiovascular system functions years older than their actual age, about four years older for women and seven years older for men.
What is ‘risk age’ and why it matters
The study, based on data from over 14,000 adults, introduces a new concept called “risk age”, a way of communicating heart disease risk not through percentages, but by comparing a person’s heart to that of someone in perfect cardiovascular health.
Researchers found striking disparities based on socioeconomic status. Adults with only a high school education or less showed significantly older heart ages, up to 10 years older in some cases. Income mattered even more: lower-income men had hearts ageing more than 8 years ahead of their age, and nearly 1 in 3 had heart ages 10+ years older.
Impact of education, income and race on heart ageing
Non-Hispanic Black adults had the highest gaps, especially men, whose hearts aged an average of 8.5 years beyond their chronological age. Hispanic and Asian adults also showed disparities, but Asian women had the smallest gap, less than three years.
Instead of saying a patient has a 15 percent risk of heart disease, doctors can now say their heart functions like someone a decade older. This “risk age” method may help younger adults understand their health risks more clearly and encourage better prevention efforts.
While individual choices matter, the research highlights how education and income levels shape heart health deeply. The findings call for not just lifestyle changes, but systemic solutions to close the cardiovascular health gap in America.
