To mark World Heart Day, the BHF, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS Choices (NHSC) are encouraging people to use an innovative online tool to find out how old their heart is and know their cardiovascular risk. The older a person’s heart age, the higher their risk of a cardiovascular event, such as a stroke or heart attack. A heart age greater than 70 increases the risk significantly.
A staggering four in five (79.2%) people over 30 have a heart age older than their chronological age, making them more likely to have a potentially fatal heart attack or stroke, according to a study of 575,000 people funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), published today in BMJ Open.
Further reading: Do doctors really know how to diagnose a heart attack? New guidance from the European Society of Cardiology
Further reading: The British Heart Foundation launches the Big Beat Challenge at the European Society of Cardiology Congress
