Yoshida Y, Nakanishi K, Daimon M, et al. - Among people (mean age was 60 ± 12 years; 46% men) from the general population without prevalent cardiovascular risk factors and structural heart disease, researchers examined how healthy aging influences left ventricular (LV), right ventricular (RV), and left atrial (LA) performance as well as their link with serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. They performed speckle-tracking echocardiography on 481 normal-weight healthy individuals who had an extensive cardiovascular examination, to evaluate LV global longitudinal strain, RV free wall strain, and LA phasic strain. Findings revealed reductions in LA reservoir and conduit strain as the earliest markers of age-associated cardiac remodeling, and LA reservoir strain was identified as an independent predictor of high serum BNP level, with both suggested as possible markers of increased risk of heart failure in older adults.