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Public Health England (PHE) has warned that 10% of 50-year-old English men have 60-year-old hearts.
Medical experts say that a decade-older heart results in increased risks of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and diabetes. People with older hearts may die 10 years earlier if they continue their unhealthy lifestyle.
According to Associate Professor Jamie Waterall, lead for PHE’s Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, people should aim to keep their heart age and their real age the same. In order to achieve this, he recommends having healthy balanced diet and doing regular exercise.
The alarming figure was observed from the Heart Age Test results of 1.2 million middle-aged men. The Heart Age Test is a 3-minute online questionnaire that tests the probability of heart diseases without the need for a doctor’s appointment.
The test asks about various health conditions like diabetes, arthritis, and kidney disease. It also asks a person’s blood pressure and cholesterol level. It can only be taken by people aged 30 and above. The test is part of the One You campaign of England’s National Health Service (NHS). The campaign aims to promote a healthy lifestyle by providing tools, support, and encouragement to help people improve their health.
Aside from determining the age of a person’s heart, the test also gives people free health advice, such as how to maintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol levels. Those who take the test are also referred to apps that provide fitness programs and trackers for calories and alcohol intake. The test also gives information on the nearest blood pressure stations where people can be checked.