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When it comes to heart health, most people focus on familiar markers like blood pressure and cholesterol levels. While these numbers are important, cardiologists warn they do not always tell the full story. In many cases, the heart can begin ageing silently years before routine tests raise any red flags.
According to Dr Deebanshu Gupta, Interventional Cardiologist at Sarvodya Hospital, Jalandhar, the body often sends subtle early signals that the heart and blood vessels are under stress. Recognising these warning signs early can help prevent serious cardiovascular disease later in life.
Here are five lesser-known indicators that your heart may be ageing faster than it should.
- Stiffer arteries — the earliest warning
Healthy arteries are elastic, expanding and contracting smoothly to help blood circulate efficiently. Over time, chronic inflammation, stress and ageing can cause arteries to lose this flexibility — a process known as early vascular ageing.
This change often goes unnoticed because standard blood pressure readings may still appear normal. However, stiffened arteries force the heart to work harder to pump blood. Advanced tests such as arterial stiffness or pulse-wave velocity assessments can detect this problem long before symptoms develop.
- Hidden visceral fat
You don’t have to be overweight for your heart to be at risk. Visceral fat — the fat stored deep around internal organs — can exist even in people who appear lean or fit.
This type of fat increases inflammation, disrupts metabolism and accelerates cardiovascular ageing. Measuring waist circumference, reviewing lifestyle habits or undergoing imaging tests can help identify this silent but dangerous risk factor early.
- Reduced exercise tolerance and slow recovery
If everyday activities like climbing stairs or brisk walking suddenly feel more exhausting, it may signal a decline in cardiac reserve. Another key marker is heart rate recovery — how quickly your pulse slows after physical activity.
A drop of less than 12–15 beats per minute within the first minute of rest may indicate impaired autonomic function and early heart ageing, even if your ECG and blood tests appear normal.
- AI-based vascular age assessments
Emerging AI-powered tools are changing how doctors assess heart health. Using simple blood flow signals — similar to those captured by wearable devices — artificial intelligence can estimate your vascular age.
Studies show that people whose vascular age is higher than their actual age face a greater risk of heart attack and stroke, regardless of normal blood pressure or cholesterol. This technology is increasingly being seen as an early-warning system that goes beyond traditional tests.
- Lifestyle-driven metabolic stress
Poor sleep, chronic stress, insulin resistance, irregular eating patterns and high-sugar diets place constant metabolic strain on the heart. Even with “perfect” lab reports, an unhealthy lifestyle can quietly accelerate vascular ageing.
Doctors describe this as background stress — invisible, ongoing pressure on the cardiovascular system that slowly takes its toll.
The takeaway
Heart ageing often begins long before conventional risk factors show up on reports. Identifying these hidden signs early gives you the chance to intervene in time — through better sleep, regular physical activity, weight management, stress reduction and an anti-inflammatory diet.
Rather than waiting for numbers to rise, experts recommend paying attention to deeper signals, discussing advanced heart age assessments with your doctor, and making sustainable lifestyle changes to keep your heart biologically younger for years to come.
English (US) ·