Following these 8 steps for heart health may slow biological aging by 6 years, research shows

Want to live longer? New research shows a link between strong heart health and slower biological aging — and there are certain steps that can help you get there. 

The analysis, using data from 6,500 adults who participated in the 2015 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found that having high cardiovascular health may slow the pace of biological aging. Adults with high cardiovascular health were about 6 years younger biologically than their chronological age, according to the research. 

"We found that higher cardiovascular health is associated with decelerated biological aging, as measured by phenotypic age. We also found a dose-dependent association — as heart health goes up, biological aging goes down," study senior author Nour Makarem, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, said in a news release from the American Heart Association. "Phenotypic age is a practical tool to assess our body's biological aging process and a strong predictor of future risk of disease and death."