Do you know how old your heart is? Of course, the obvious answer is “as old as my tongue and a bit older than my teeth”, but I am not talking about that age. You can reverse the time of heart attack risk by improving your lifestyle.

In September, Public Health England (PHE) launched the “Know Your Heart Age” tool to let people know their heart health.

I had a heart age test which was a disturbing reading. One in eight people’s heart age is 10 years older than the age shown on their passport, and one in ten men with 50 years of age have their heart age 60 years or older.

 In fact, four-fifths of people tested have a heart age greater than their actual age. Fortunately, you can lower your “heart age” through a variety of lifestyle changes. Obviously, your age (the one on your birth certificate!) will affect your risk of heart disease, as long as we want, we can. “Don’t change this.

The same is true for your gender: women don’t have heart attacks as often as men, but there is no room for complacency. In fact, 68,000 women have heart attacks each year in the UK, compared with 120,000 men. But let Let’s look at all the ways to reduce risk.

Stop smoking

One of them is under your nose (and other people’s noses sniff it from a distance)-smoking and quitting may be the greatest help to your body.

Although it may not be easy, there has never been more support Surprisingly, the smoking rate of smoking adults has dropped from a peak of 45% to today’s 17% of men and 13% of women. You can join them!

Get active

The benefits of regular exercise are almost endless: In addition to strengthening the heart and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke, weight-bearing exercise can also reduce the risk of osteoporosis (thinning of bones), and it can improve mood and reduce depression The risk of disease.

From the point of view of the heart, the key is aerobic exercise, which will make your heart beat faster and make you hold your breath. PHE recommends about 150 minutes a week, which is equivalent to half an hour every five times.

For many years, the “standard” advice has been recommending that people aim for 10,000 steps per day. But in fact, doing the same or more may not help your heart much; everything is done at a gentle speed, if the intensity is enough to increase your heart rate and pulse, then fewer things are great for your heart’s help.

This is where PHE programs such as Active 10 and/or Couch to 5k apps come in. You don’t need to wear Lycras, nor do you need to spend money to go to the gym; they can help you easily integrate activities into your daily life.

Check your blood pressure

In terms of risk factors, hypertension also tops the list. This may also be the biggest risk factor for stroke. Unless it is controlled, you will not know that you have high blood pressure, unless in rare cases, high blood pressure will not cause symptoms in the short term, but it will put a lot of pressure on your heart.

 In most cases, daily medication can be effectively controlled, but it is obvious that you should continue to take pills and regularly monitor your blood pressure. Reducing salt in the diet can also help lower blood pressure.

How’s your cholesterol?

Almost everyone knows that high cholesterol is a risk factor for heart attack. But it is actually more complicated than this. It is the “bad” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol that irritates the arteries; the “good” high-density lipoprotein cholesterol can actually protect you.

So some people’s total cholesterol value is normal. But the bad cholesterol level is high, and the good cholesterol level is low. Your GP or nurse can advise you on the breakdown of your cholesterol levels and whether to take action.

Although most people’s cholesterol levels depend mainly on lifestyle. There is a genetic disease, which means that if left untreated, your risk of heart disease may be much higher.

This disease called familial hypercholesterolemia or FH is hereditary and means your body cannot process cholesterol properly. This can lead to the accumulation of harmful cholesterol in the arteries.

If your parent, brother, sister, or child has a heart attack under 60, or if an aunt, uncle, or grandparent is 50, you may be at risk. Other signs include high cholesterol and fat masses on the back of the eyelids, knuckles, knees, or ankles. If you think you may be affected and do not know your cholesterol level, please check immediately.

Lose weight

In addition to quitting smoking, keeping your weight within a healthy range will also help your heart a lot. If you are overweight, losing a stone will lower your blood pressure, almost the same as taking a blood pressure pill every day.

 Eating more fruits and vegetables is a heart-healthy diet, switching from refined (white) foods to whole grains or whole grains. Replacing olive oil with butter or saturated fat can also help. Regular exercise is the key to maintaining a healthy heart.