The hearts of people who were born prematurely may form and work differently compared to people born at full-term, a new study suggests.

UK scientists monitored the progress of 102 premature babies from their birth until they reached their mid-20s. They compared these to 132 people who had been born at full-term.

Babies were considered premature if they were born before 37 weeks' gestation.

The scientists found that the right ventricle of the heart - that is the right lower heart chamber - was smaller but heavier in people who had been born prematurely. It also had thicker walls and less capacity to pump blood.

The study also found that the more premature a person was, the bigger the impact on the size and function of the right ventricle.

The scientists described these changes as ‘quite distinct and intriguing'.

"Up to 10% of today's young adults were born prematurely and some have an altered higher cardiovascular (heart) risk profile in adult life. We wanted to understand why this occurs so that we can identify the small group of patients born premature who may need advice from their healthcare provider about this cardiovascular risk," explained lead scientist, Prof Paul Leeson, of the University of Oxford.

He noted that in older adults, changes in the structure and function of the right ventricle may increase a person's risk of heart failure and heart-related death. However, he emphasised that in the case of people born prematurely who took part in this study, there was no evidence of such problems.

"We are trying to dig deeper into what's different about the hearts of those born preterm. The potential scientific explanations for why their hearts are different are fascinating and our study adds to the growing understanding of how premature birth shapes future heart health," the scientists added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Circulation.

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