Public Health England (PHE) is calling for adults across the country to take a free, online Heart Age Test, which will provide an immediate estimation of their ‘heart age’.
If someone’s heart age is higher than their actual age, they are at an increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Cardiovascular disease (CVD), with stroke and heart attack being the most common examples, is the leading cause of death for men and the second leading cause of death for women.
A quarter (24,000) of CVD deaths are in people under the age of 75, with 80% of these preventable if people made lifestyle and behaviour changes to improve their heart health (around 19,200 deaths per year – the equivalent to 50 deaths a day or one every 30 minutes). Knowing their heart age helps people to find out whether they are at risk and consider what they can do to reduce this risk. High cholesterol and high blood pressure can both increase someone’s heart age, making them up to 3 times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke. In England, one in four adults have high blood pressure, yet a further 5.6million are living with the condition undiagnosed, placing millions of lives at risk of premature death and ill health.
The Heart Age Test asks a number of simple physical and lifestyle questions and provides an immediate estimation of someone’s heart age, as well as a prediction of the risk of having a heart attack or stroke by a certain age. It also gives suggestions on lifestyle changes to help people reduce their heart age such as losing weight, quitting smoking, exercising regularly and cutting back on alcohol. The Heart Age Test has been completed more than 1.9 million times and four out of five (78%) people have a heart age higher than their actual age. Worryingly, 34% have a heart age over 5 years and 14% at least 10 years over their actual age.
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