How a two minute free test could save your life: Online quiz calculates your heart’s age and health
- The Heart Foundation has launched an online calculator to test your heart age
- New online tool helps Aussies understand their risk of a heart attack or stroke
- The higher your heart age compared to your actual age, the higher your risk
- Factors include high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and little exercise
A new free two minute test could save your life.
The Heart Foundation has launched an online calculator to help Australians aged 35- 75 check out how their ‘heart age’ measures up against their actual age.
Launched on Sunday, the new online tool helps people understand their risk of a heart attack or stroke by answering a few quick questions to compare their ‘heart age’ against their actual age.
The Heart Age Calculator is a free two minute test anyone can take online.
Australians are urged to find out how their ‘heart age’ to reduce their risk of heart disease, Australia’s biggest killer (stock image)
The online test asks questions about age, gender, smoking and diabetes status, body mass index, blood pressure levels and if they take medication, cholesterol levels and family history of heart attack/stroke.
Answers are then calculated to determine whether your heart age is above, equal or below your actual age.
You can also request to have your full heart age report emailed to you.
The online tool was launched in the fight against heart disease, Australia’s biggest killer.
An average of 21 Australians every day die from heart attack, while 22 a day die from stroke, according to the 2017 Australian Bureau of Statistics.
‘Alarmingly, one in five Australians aged 45 to 74 have a moderate to high risk for heart attack and stroke in the next five years,’ Heart Foundation chief medical advisor Professor Garry Jennings said.
The new heart age calculator is free online test that takes two minutes to complete
‘The higher your heart age compared to your actual age, the higher your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. If your heart age is greater than your actual age, we advise you to make an appointment with your doctor for a heart health check.’
Up to 40 per cent of Australians aged 18 and over have three or more risk factors, according to Professor Jennings.
High blood pressure and high cholesterol are the leading factors.
Others include being overweight, diabetes, family history, smoking, not enough exercise and certain medications.
Heart Foundation chief medical advisor Professor Garry Jennings (pictured) encourages people to reduce their risk of a heart attack
‘These conditions often have no obvious symptoms, yet they can be a ticking time bomb for people’s heart health,’ Professor Jennings said.
‘Critically, too few people understand the significant impact these risks have on their heart health.’
Australians aged 45 and over are recommended to see their GP for a regular heart health check.
The Heart Foundation’s new free two minute test (pictured) could save your life
Those with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background are at greater risk and should have regular heart health checks once they reach age 35.
People can reduce your risk for heart disease and lower your heart age with a healthy and balanced diet, giving up cigarettes and getting a minimum two-and-a-half hours of moderate physical activity per week.
‘There’s no one cause for heart disease, but the more risk factors you have, the higher your chance of getting it, and these risks only increase with age,’ Professor Jennings said.
To test your heart health, click here.