Every birthday is cause to celebrate, but sometimes getting older just feels bad. A recent study on aging-related diseases suggests that’s because our bodies are aging more rapidly during certain years.
The risk of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease jumps around age 44 and again at 60, according to the journal Nature Aging. The study argues that the proteins in our body are on a journey and developing in such a way that aging becomes obvious in those two bursts.

But these changes are happening because of our physical behavior more so than changes in our biology, says interventional cardiologist Dr. Frederick Meine of Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute - Wilmington.
“I can’t tell you that I’m seeing more heart attacks in patients who turn 44,” Meine said. “But I can tell you that I see a lot of patients who fell off the exercise wagon because it got that much harder to exercise and see results. And this trial validates that.”
It’s hardly news that healthy eating and consistent exercise (for a half-hour at least three days a week) can help combat the aging process and heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. But you can also improve your cardiovascular health by getting more sleep and cutting alcohol, caffeine and tobacco. Those approaching age 60 are at risk of weakening bones and kidney dysfunction, and should remember to hydrate and visit a primary care clinician for blood pressure and cholesterol screenings.
After all, aging gracefully mostly depends on our own behavior, Meine says. Here, he answers our questions about aging and cardiovascular health.
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Have you noticed a correlation between accelerated aging periods and cardiovascular health at these particular ages (44 and 60)?
I think one of the beauties of this trial is that it highlighted something that all of us had thought about but never really looked at. We’ve known that as we get older, we have a higher risk of coronary disease. But none of us ever had a way of breaking down this specifically to individual times or ages. And I think the lesson for our patients is that it’s important for our heart health to exercise regularly.
We all remember exercising in our 20s and looking like a million bucks. This trial suggests that exercise feels much harder to do at a certain age. But that doesn’t mean exercise isn’t worth doing; if anything, it’s worth doing more.
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So why the shift, and what can we do to help ourselves as we age?
Nobody has trouble with their car for the first five years. But by the 10-year mark, you’re fixing the transmission one month and the brakes the next. Just like with your car, you’ve got to be that much more aggressive about taking care of your body. Your 40s is the time where it’s really easy to stop exercising. And this trial tells us that’s because exercising gets harder to do: You’re sore when you get out of bed, and you don’t feel like you gain anything. But you do gain something with exercise; it just doesn’t feel like it did when you were 18 or 20.
The study mentions the ability to metabolize caffeine and alcohol diminishes at 44 and 60. How does that affect our health?
As we get older, we metabolize things more slowly. Our liver is just not as robust as it was when we were 20, and alcohol and caffeine affect us differently as we age. This means as you get older you ought to be doing things more in moderation. Most of us are not drinking the way some of us might have in college.
It will be interesting to see the next two or three trials that come out of this. What specifically is happening at ages 44 and 60 at the protein level? Those things could theoretically be true and unrelated, but this trial doesn’t answer that. Looking at the causation of why rapid aging is happening is fascinating. But I don’t think it changes the message for our patients. The message is that it’s harder to exercise but more important the older you get.
So for people reaching age 44 or 60, should they make an appointment to see their cardiologist?
It’s always the right thing to take stock of your health, and if this study helps you pick a spot on the calendar to say, “On my 44th birthday, I’m going to quit smoking or moderate my drinking,” that’s a great goal.
You’re born with the genes you get. But you’re not born with bad habits. No matter what your genes are, you can improve your health by exercising and watching your cholesterol and blood sugar numbers. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman; either way, age happens.