How old is your heart?
The true age of your heart – the biological age, not the birth date age – means a lot when it comes to living a vibrant, energetic youthful life for as long as you can. Last week I wrote about blood pressure as a biomarker of age. The week before, I wrote about resting heart rate. Both of these markers are related to the strength, health and resilience of your heart.
What ages the heart? I bet you guess.
Smoking.
Obesity – especially extra padding around the middle.
A heart-unhealthy diet (junk, fried anything, meat and more meat).
Inactivity.
High blood pressure.
Low “good” cholesterol.
Unmanaged stress.
The World Health Federation estimates that at least 80 percent of premature deaths (the ultimate ager, right?) from heart disease and stroke could be avoided if the main risk factors – smoking,, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity – were controlled. Yes, 80 percent. And, of course, that same trifecta of badness is implicated in many other diseases of “aging” and chronic conditions that make life far less pleasant than it could or should be.
Suppose your parents had/ have heart problems or heart disease. Does that doom you to a rapidly aging heart, a heart that is biologically older than your chronological age? No. There is strong and compelling evidence that people with a family history of heart problems can still have a lower “heart age” if they practice a healthy lifestyle.
This is good news for me. My father had (and died from) coronary artery disease. He never had a heart attack. And he didn’t die young. (He was in his 80s – unlike his father who died of a heart attack at 50.) But the last few years of his life were not good. He was weak, increasingly debilitated and then bedridden. His lifespan exceeded his healthspan. That’s not what I want for my future.
So I am doing everything I can to keep my heart (and the rest of me) youthful. And, really, this is not “work.” It is committing to – and deeply, deeply enjoying – an active, healthy lifestyle.
Want to take a test to see how old your heart is? Sure you do. Here it is.
When I took the test, I was informed that most women my age have hearts that are 6 years older than their chronological age. My heart? It was 17 years younger.
6 comments
My lab report does not have total cholesterol reported,just HDL, LDL, triglycerides and a cholesterol/HDL ratio so I guessed, based on my reported level of a few years ago. Kind of cheating, but the other values were within a point or two of the earlier test so how far off could I be? I “scored” 13.5 years younger. I just know it would be better if work were not so stressful! But I’ll take it 🙂
Just ditch that stressful job, Colleen!
I’m a little slow on the response here, but I wanted to thank you Lauren for the blood pressure tips. I always have people breathe before taking a reading and NEVER after just having weighed them. One of the most stressful medical moments is that darn scale. Also taking BP at home at various times of the day is more accurate (depends on your method/machine though). Most people have “reactive” hypertension, so I do a pulse/ox at the same time as BP. One lady mentioned her mother during the exam and her heart rate went up to 250 instantly……where’s the biofeedback when you need it? Just consider how many times a day our BP spikes with stressful moments. Another opportunity to breathe. Also, I like doing a test we alternative types like to do: BP sitting, laying down, then from laying to standing. Large drop in BP? Could be adrenal fatigue, especially with seeing stars or dizziness. Orthostatic hypotension. Actually fairly common.
Thanks for adding to the conversation, Morgaine. What you describe perfectly encapsulates the difference between a thoughtful, holistic alternative health care provider and a traditional MD who schedules (or is forced to schedule) a patient every 10 minutes.
Thanks for the link to Heart Age … Was relieved and happy to see my heart is 9.5 years younger than my age!
Way to go!
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