Published: September 2, 2025 | Updated: September 4, 2025
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
A person’s heart could be aging faster than they think, and Norton Heart & Vascular Institute is offering a way to find out.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. A recent national study found that on average men have a heart risk age that is seven years older than their actual age, while women have an average age gap of four years between their heart and chronological age.
Norton Heart & Vascular Institute created a two-minute quiz that reveals how healthy a person’s heart is and if they’re potentially at risk for heart disease.
“Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in Kentucky, and high blood pressure can quietly damage your heart and arteries without clear symptoms,” Jason A. Hopper, M.D., cardiologist and cardiac imaging specialist, Norton Heart & Vascular Institute. “This quiz puts people on the right path to understand simple changes they can make to live healthier lives and connect them with a cardiologist, if needed.”
The brief quiz asks a variety of health-related questions, including exercise and sleep habits, tobacco usage and family history of heart disease.
After completing the quiz, respondents are emailed a “heart age,” which can be different from their chronological age.
People can then schedule an appointment with a cardiologist, who specializes in diagnosing and treating conditions affecting people’s heart and blood vessels. Heart specialists are trained to identify early warning signs of heart issues.
While the majority of first heart attacks happen around age 65 for men and 72 for women, there has been an increase in heart attacks in people under age 40, according to the American College of Cardiology.