AN anti-ageing jab that could rewind the heart's age by ten years has been discovered by scientists.
It's hoped the new tech might prevent heart disease years before symptoms emerge and even cure heart failure in the elderly.
For years, experts have thought those who live beyond 100 have a special gene which protects them from heart complications - which often come with ageing.
Now, scientists from Bristol have found one mutant gene - believed to be anti-ageing - which rewound elderly mice's heart’s age by the human equivalent of more than ten years.
The gene, given to mice in jab-form, also prevented "decay" of heart functions in middle-aged mice, the experts said.
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Professor Paolo Madeddu from University of Bristol’s Bristol Heart Institute, said: “Our findings confirm the healthy mutant gene can reverse the decline of heart performance in older people."
How well the heart functions and pumps blood around the body deteriorates naturally with age.
But certain lifestyle factors, like diet and exercise, can also impact the speed at which heart health declines.
Experts believe a naturally occurring variant of the BPIFB4 gene - common among those who live beyond 100 - helps keep hearts healthier for longer.
The new study showed this gene can be passed onto people via a jab.
Professor James Leiper, of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research said: “This is still early-stage research, but could one day provide a revolutionary way to treat people with heart failure and even stop the debilitating condition from developing in the first place.”
The study was published in the journal Cardiovascular Research.
