Proteomic multi-organ aging accelerates before adverse events in heart failure patients
Organ age gaps for the kidney, lung, and immune system predicted patient outcomes independently of standard clinical biomarkers.
In a study of human participants across two heart failure cohorts, researchers tracked proteomic organ age gaps over time. The team analyzed 557 individuals at risk for or newly diagnosed with heart failure, alongside 382 patients with established disease. Baseline organ age gaps differed across disease severity. Over 4.6 years, individuals with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction showed increasing artery and immune age gaps. Among patients with established heart failure tracked over 2.1 years, those without adverse events maintained stable age trajectories. Conversely, patients who experienced adverse events exhibited accelerating multi-organ aging, particularly in immune and heart tissues. Overall, elevated organ age gaps predicted primary endpoints. Age gaps in the kidney, lung, and immune system remained prognostic even after adjusting for established markers like NT-proBNP and troponin T.
Why it matters
The findings show that organ-specific biological aging is dynamic and quickens prior to clinical deterioration. Measuring organ aging rates through blood proteomics could help identify systemic decline that standard disease markers overlook.
Caveats
The authors describe this work as an exploratory study that requires confirmation in larger patient cohorts.
- Heart failure
- Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
- Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction
- NT-proBNP
- Organ age gap
- Troponin T
- Homo sapiens
The paper
Longitudinal proteomic organ-specific aging in heart failure
Qu K, Diez Benavente E, Hatip Ünlü E et al.
European Journal of Heart Failure · 25 Sep 2026