Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in El Paso, where high rates of obesity and diabetes place the largely Hispanic population at elevated risk, particularly women. This project examines how these conditions accelerate heart damage by focusing on cellular senescence, a poorly understood process in which certain cells age prematurely and accumulate in cardiac tissue. In people with obesity or diabetes, this buildup may drive fibrosis and impair normal heart function. The study investigates whether a diet-based therapeutic strategy can reduce this damage. Using a defined combination of polyphenols—quercetin, epigallocatechin gallate, curcumin, and resveratrol—the project evaluates their potential as senolytic agents to limit senescent cell accumulation and protect cardiac tissue in diabetic and obese animal models. Cardiac samples from non-diabetic and diabetic/obese conditions will be analyzed to identify and compare senescence biomarkers and gene expression profiles. RNA sequencing and complementary analyses will be used to establish molecular signatures of senescent cell populations and to clarify how these cells contribute to fibrosis and functional decline in the heart. By linking cellular aging mechanisms to diet-based interventions, this project advances understanding of how polyphenol-rich foods may help slow cardiac deterioration and reduce the long-term burden of heart disease in high-risk communities.