How old is YOUR heart? Take this NHS test to find out…
It’s the world’s biggest killer.
Yet millions gloss over the threat of heart disease, assuming they’ll somehow avoid the inevitable consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle.
But, for those wanting to know about their risk, there’s an NHS test that can help.
The tool compares your real age against your heart age, simply by asking questions about your health.
All you need to do is answer a few questions.
A 30-year-old with a healthy weight, height and blood pressure who has never smoked is likely to have a healthy heart and a heart age of 30, according to the NHS calculator
Smoking increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and therefore the NHS says it actually increases your heart age. The calculator suggests people who smoke should quit to improve their heart health
The quiz makes lifestyle suggestions to help lower high blood pressure including losing weight, eating less salt, exercising regularly and cutting back on alcohol and caffeine
It quizzes people on their history of heart-related illnesses and whether they have diabetes, arthritis or kidney disease.
The calculator also requires your age, height, weight and postcode before also asking if you have ever smoked and what your blood pressure is.
Using a special algorithm, the calculator then gives you an age for your heart.
If you are a healthy 30-year-old who has never smoked and has a low body mass index (BMI), your heart age will most likely be 30.
But if you have a history of heart disease, high blood pressure or cholesterol or smoke that number starts to creep up.
For example, a 45-year-old woman who does not have cardiovascular disease and who smokes less than 10 cigarettes a day can have a heart age of 46.
But, if someone of this demographic quits smoking, they could lose up to three years off their heart age, the NHS says.
A blood pressure reading is considered healthy if it is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. High blood pressure or hypertension, does not always have noticeable symptoms, according to the NHS
There are around 100,000 hospital admissions every year due to heart attacks in the UK, according to British Heart Foundation
A 60-year-old white male who doesn’t have cardiovascular disease, smokes 20 a day, is six foot and 16 stone and has arthritis and a high blood pressure, could have a heart age of about 68.
The NHS quiz says if they quit smoking, they could improve their heart age by around eight years and a further three years by losing weight.
The quiz also bases its age calculation on cholesterol and blood pressure as well as things such as weight and smoking habits.
A blood pressure reading is considered healthy if it is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, does not always have noticeable symptoms, according to the quiz.
But if it is left untreated it can increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The quiz makes lifestyle suggestions to help lower high blood pressure including losing weight, eating less salt, exercising regularly and cutting back on alcohol and caffeine.
But if your blood pressure is high a GP may give you medicine to help lower it.
Cholesterol is considered healthy if it is 5mmol/l or below and it can be improved by being physically active and eating the right food.
