What is the TRUE age of your heart? NHS test helps predict risk of killer conditions
WE all know that keeping our hearts healthy is important.
And keeping fit, eating a well balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight can all help to keep that ticker going.
The NHS has now devised a simple test which can help you discover the true age of your heart – compared to your actual age.
Off the back of this, it estimates your risk of heart disease within the next ten years.
Take the NHS test here.
Heart disease is the second most common cause of death in the UK, killing around 64,000 Brits each year.
It’s therefore important to understand our risk and how we can prevent heart disease.
However, many people are unaware of some of the most common symptoms, meaning they let their illness go untreated putting their life at risk.
Researchers from the American Heart Association have said that understanding and knowing the symptoms is “critical” for an “effective diagnosis and treatment decisions.
“Some people may not consider symptoms like fatigue, sleep disturbance, weight gain and depression as important or related to cardiovascular disease,” they said.
Cardiovascular disease is an umbrella term for all diseases which affect the heart, including heart attack, heart failure, valve disease, stroke, heart rhythm disorders, and artery and vein disease.
The conditions are usually caused by a build-up of fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries around the heart.
This makes the arteries narrower, restricting the flow of blood to the heart muscle.
The NHS quiz focuses on lifestyle habits and conditions which might put you at risk of the illness.
Diabetes
As part of the questionnaire, you’ll be asked whether or not you have diabetes.
That’s because this condition causes the level of sugar in the blood to become high, which may affect your heart, the NHS states.
A study previously found that 39,000 people with diabetes will suffer a heart attack in 2035 — a rise of 9,000 on figures seen in 2015.
This is partly due to obesity, which is leading to a sharp rise in cases of type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes UK previously said patients with type 2 diabetes were two to four times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
You can reduce your risk of conditions like type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes UK states that you can do this by eating a healthy, balanced diet, moving more and getting support to lose weight if you need to.
Smoking
One of the biggest risk factors when it comes to heart disease is smoking.
The NHS states that both nicotine and carbon monoxide (from the smoke) put a strain on the heart by making it work faster.
Cigarettes also increase your risk of blood clots.
As well as this, other chemicals in cigarette smoke can damage the lining of your coronary arteries.
At least 10 per cent of women and 20 per cent of men who smoke will ultimately die of a cardiovascular event like a heart attack or stroke, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
This was most likely to happen to people over the age of 60 – 4.9 per cent of female smokers, and 6.7 per cent of male smokers.
High blood pressure
The quiz asks for your blood pressure reading and whether or not you’ve been on any medicine for the condition.
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body.
When your blood pressure is high, this means the heart is having to pump harder to get blood around the body, which can lead to serious problems.
About a third of British adults suffer with hypertension, as high blood pressure is also called.
And if left untreated, hypertension can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, leading to heart attacks, strokes and even kidney disease.