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 will somehow avoid the inevitable consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle.
But for those who want to know more about their risk, there is an NHS test that can help.
The tools compares your actual age to your heart age simply by asking questions about your health.
All you have 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, which is why the NHS says it increases your heart age. The calculator suggests that 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 questions people about their history of heart-related diseases and whether they have diabetes, arthritis or kidney disease.
The calculator also needs your age, height, weight and zip code before also asking if you’ve 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 is most likely 30.
But if you have a history of heart disease, high blood pressure or cholesterol or smoking, that number starts to creep up.
For example, a 45-year-old woman who does not have cardiovascular disease and who smokes fewer than 10 cigarettes a day may have a heart age of 46.
But if someone in this target group quits smoking, they could lose up to three years of their heart age, the NHS says.
A blood pressure reading is considered healthy if it is between 90/60 mmHg and 120/80 mmHg. High blood pressure, or hypertension, doesn’t always have noticeable symptoms, according to the NHS
There are around 100,000 hospital admissions due to heart attacks in the UK each year, according to the British Heart Foundation
A 60-year-old white male who has no cardiovascular disease, smokes 20 a day, is six feet tall, and has arthritis and high blood pressure could have a heart age of about 68 years.
The NHS quiz says if they quit smoking they could improve their heart age by about eight years and another three years by losing weight.
The quiz also bases its age calculation on cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as things like weight and smoking habits.
A blood pressure reading is considered healthy if it is between 90/60 mmHg and 120/80 mmHg.
High blood pressure or hypertension does not always have noticeable symptoms, according to the quiz.
But if 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 can give you medicine to help lower it.
Cholesterol is considered healthy when it is 5 mmol/L or lower and can be improved by being physically active and eating the right foods.