Online test by Public Health England reveals your 'likelihood' of having a heart attack, plus expert tips for a healthy heart

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Public Health England have urged people to take an online test to find out their 'heart age'.

A online test from Public Health England reveals your heart age and whether you’re at risk for a heart attack or stroke. Developed by medical experts, the free test is part of a campaign to reduce to number of people who die from a heart attack or a stroke.

The test asks 16 easy-to-answer questions on lifestyle and medical history, including whether you smoke and if you have cardiovascular disease. One you’ve entered your information, the quiz tells you your ‘heart age’, which can be increased by high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and what age someone like you can expect to live to. While the quiz doesn’t provide a diagnosis, it does give an indication of your heart health and what small changes can do to cut your risk of problems down the line.

Image: NHS

Public Health England has said that of the nearly 2 million people who have taken the test, 78% had a heart age higher than their actual age.

Worryingly, over a third (34 per cent) had a heart age more than five years above their real age and 14% found it was 10 years higher. In the UK, around 84,100 people die from a heart attack or stroke annually.

Public Health England predict about 80 per cent of heart attacks and strokes in people under 75 could be prevented.

NHS gives the following tips for a healthy heart:

Professor Jamie Waterall, national lead for cardiovascular disease at PHE, said: ‘Millions are at risk of cardiovascular disease but don’t know it, putting themselves at real risk of suffering ill-health or dying younger.

‘Knowing your heart age is a simple way of finding out whether you’re at risk of a heart attack or stroke. By making important lifestyle changes you can reduce your risk before it’s too late.’

 

Natalia Lubomirski
Natalia is a health journalist with 14 years experience in the publishing industry. She has worked for a number of well known magazines and websites including Marie Claire, Woman&Home, Top Sante, Boots and The Telegraph.  She likes to think she practices what she preaches when it comes to health and fitness. Her athletic prowess began early. A keen fencer for 13 years, she wielded an epée for Olympic Team GB during her teenage years. She likes to think she made sword-fighting cool before Game of Thrones came along! While working on her sporting performance with the team, she also participated in a lot of nutrition and psychology training, When it comes to time off, you’ll most likely find her up a mountain somewhere. It seems holidays have become a time for climbing several thousand feet, rather than chilling out. She’s now hiked eight of the major mountain ranges across four continents – including the Appalachians, the Smokies, the Sierra Nevadas (she spent her honeymoon hiking to the top of Half Dome), as well as hitting the summits of Snowdon, Pen-Y-Fan (Brecon Beacons), Table Mountain in South Africa, the Blue Mountains in Australia and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. She’s also passionate about all things health, particularly vaccinations, and will happily jump on her soap box at any given opportunity to talk about their benefits to anyone who will listen!
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