By standard definition, health has historically been measured by lifespan: How long might you live — to 70 years old? 85? Even 100?

But while rising life expectancy is unquestionably positive, lifespan is a somewhat narrow measure that brushes past a key consideration: What if you’re not healthy in those extra years — or at least healthy enough to engage in the activities that give life meaning? That’s not just exercise or travel; it includes  basics such as being pain-free or living independently.

This realization has prompted a focus on “health span” — or how long you’re physically able to enjoy life. Think of it as quality time in your later years. And thanks to advances in preventive care, diagnostics and therapeutics, developments that seemed fantastical a decade ago are rapidly becoming feasible.

These themes were central to a recent webinar hosted by Capital Group Private Client Services. It featured Dr. Wei-Wu He, executive chairman of Human Longevity, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on extending human life and health spans, and Capital Group equity portfolio manager Richmond Wolf, who follows U.S. medical technology companies. Their discussion shed light on the science and strategy reshaping how we think about longevity.

Here are some highlights:

Longevity science requires a preventive approach.

Wolf points to three pillars that are changing how long and how well people live. The first is prevention. Decades of progress in diet, exercise awareness and medications have sharply reduced risk for many chronic diseases. The second is diagnostics. With breakthroughs such as liquid biopsy, physicians can detect certain cancers and diseases in their early stages. The third is treatment innovation. New medicines allow doctors to manage even late-stage conditions more effectively than ever before.

The first pillar acknowledges the shortfalls of the U.S. health care system, which is largely reactive, with most treatments beginning once symptoms appear. By then, patients may face long, painful and ultimately unsuccessful interventions.

Dr. He believes one of the most urgent steps patients can take is to focus on delaying or preventing age-related chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia and metabolic conditions such as diabetes. This can be done, in part, by utilizing tools, including genetic screenings and advanced diagnostics that can identify risks years — even decades — before disease develops.

“Somebody is born with a genetic mutation for colon cancer like Lynch syndrome, and you detect it using liquid biopsy,” Dr. He explained. “You can detect the colon cancer at stage zero or stage one. Then it’s a simple removal of a polyp, versus millions of dollars of late stage treatment.”

Dr. He predicts scientists will continue making advances that allow patients to have longer, healthier lives. “I think there is a real technology revolution going on in the longevity space,” he said.

Preventive care is becoming a precision science.

The practical vision of this new era starts with a reimagined annual physical. Instead of a standard blood panel and stethoscope exam, patients might undergo whole-genome sequencing, advanced biomarker testing and a full-body MRI, all analyzed with artificial intelligence to flag their unique risks.

At Human Longevity, Inc., this model is already in practice, Dr. He said. Once a year, patients spend a few hours undergoing tests that generate extensive personal health data. The findings, for many, are shocking.

“In our published research, about 14% of people who came in [to a clinic] and declared themselves healthy were found to have serious conditions,” Dr. He said. “We’d find a one-centimeter lung cancer, a brain aneurysm or an artery that’s 70% to 80% blocked.”

Catching these conditions early turns what could have been catastrophic into something manageable. A small tumor can be removed before it spreads, or a blocked artery can be treated before a heart attack occurs. Dr. He envisions a future where such clinics are as common as coffee shops, offering precision preventive care enabled by AI and cloud-based data systems.

Dr. He likes to compare the process to a symphony — a complex arrangement where no single instrument carries the performance. A whole-body MRI, for example, may be useful, but it cannot detect every ailment. At his clinics, a single visit collects a breadth of information, from genomics to imaging to biomarkers. Dr. He believes patients should do these check-ups annually, allowing doctors to spot changes before they become crises. Intermittent visits may result in missing issues that progress quickly.

Meanwhile, new therapies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Autologous treatments — using a patient’s own cells — and experimental approaches, such as mitochondrial transplants hint at a future where the cellular mechanics of aging itself could be slowed or reversed. And AI may accelerate these discoveries by parsing vast datasets to identify patterns that human researchers might overlook.

The economics are shifting just as quickly. Two decades ago, sequencing a human genome cost billions of dollars, while today it can be done for less than $1,000, and costs continue to fall. Dr. He predicts a future where someone’s entire genome can be sequenced for about $100, analyzed continually throughout their life at minimal cost. 

Breakthroughs are driving new areas for investment.

These scientific advancements are also creating investment opportunities. If certain types of advanced testing become routine, the market could expand rapidly. Cell-based therapies are at an inflection point, Wolf says. While many early investments in the space have struggled, he has seen evidence that the science is improving. The potential to replace damaged cells with healthy ones could apply to a wide range of conditions, even if manufacturing and delivery challenges remain complex.

Beyond traditional medicine, Wolf says wearables, infusion pumps and remote monitoring tools are already changing how patients manage chronic conditions.

For all of us, the lesson is clear: emphasizing prevention — whether through healthier lifestyles, regular screenings or emerging genomic tests — holds the potential to expand health spans. For health systems, shifting resources toward early detection and precision medicine could dramatically reduce the costs of treating late-stage disease. And for policymakers and investors, supporting the infrastructure for distributed, data-rich preventive care may prove critical as aging populations strain traditional models.

The future of longevity will not be defined by a single breakthrough, but by the continued introduction of new technologies and redesigned care models. Taken together, these choices could move us closer to a world where living longer also means living better.

To hear the full conversation, visit here.