NHS heart age quiz

[Bloodybridget]

Has anyone done this online test? I did it last night, thought I would come through pretty well as I didn't seem to have any risk factors; BMI OK, good BP, etc. Was told my heart age was 69, I'm 64. I looked through and the only issue seemed to be that I don't know my cholesterol level, I don't think I've ever had it tested.

Then this morning on radio news they mentioned the quiz and said 4 out of 5 respondents got a heart age higher than chronological age - well if they're assuming raised cholesterol and adding five years for that, I'm not surprised! There weren't any questions about fitness, exercise, diet . .

I wouldn't mind knowing my cholesterol level but it seems a bit silly to make a GP/nurse appt just for that.

The thing is, this is a population level risk assessment. If you live in a postcode with higher levels of poverty, you are at increased risk of stroke or heart attack. It does not mean you are actually more likely to have a stroke or heart attack. Only a full examination can tell you that. So if you live in the only 5 bed 2 car property in your neighbourhood, the results might not be accurate.

I am morbidly obese and it gave me my heart age as 5 years older than I am. However if I put in a healthy weight it only shaves a year off

Don't think I'll take this, I'll work on actually doing more exercise instead.

I didn’t like the question about bp tablets. ‘Have you ever taken blood pressure tablets?’ Well yes for a month when I had pre eclampsia-10 years ago Seems a bit vague to me
Also no questions on exercise

I did the test and it reckons my heart age is 70. I'm 59.

My BP is fine, my cholesterol is actually low, and I' not on any tablets for anything. My late brother (died aged 54) had Angina - but he smoked and drank too much (I do neither), so I don't think the results of the test are at all accurate

I am 57 and it gave my heart age as 72. I’m diabetic and have high cholesterol!

It was nice knowing you folks.

Got 52. I’m 55. Am a few stone overweight.
Apparently if I lose weight it will go down to 51.

I did it and it gave me a heart age the same as my real one - I couldn’t remember my cholesterol or blood pressure. However I actually had this test done at work a couple of months ago and the result was 10 years younger when my actual cholesterol and BP were used. I would imagine most people will not have known theirs.

Mine came up as 44, though I’m 42. It’s probably as I’m fat. My blood pressure is very good, but I exercise a lot, which it didn’t take into account. Also, every female on my mothers side passed from heart failure, my dm has just had a heart bypass, so irrelevant really.
I did go for tests a few years ago, as I turned 40. Apart from being fat (yes, I know I need to lose weight), everything was all good. My downfall is that I work full time and everything is a rush when making dinner/ breakfast. I get a free lunch at work, and afternoon tea —one of my downfalls—

Something that came up on twitter today is how are all the GPs going to cope when loads of perfectly healthy people start to flock to them to get their cholesterol checked as advised by this app?
It’s gping to cost a fortune and waste so much time.

My heart age was 5yrs older than I am. I expected it to be much higher, I'm overweight, take blood pressure meds and I don't know my exact cholesterol, I just know that it's in the healthy range.

Strange that it didn't take exercise into account, considering the health benefits of even small bursts of activity.

gamerwidow Yes, it would have been nice if someone involved in the campaign had looked ahead a bit and made it easy for people to get a cholesterol test without needing a gp appointment first.

I'm thinking i don't believe in this measure. If I change one thing I gain back a year in my heart age, and that is the most I can gain back on their measures (I. E. Compared to those factors never having been present), so why is it showing my heart age as 5 years more than I am. Also, my life expectancy is shown as 20 years less than everyone in my family so far, who lived much less healthy lives on the points measured. This is too blunt a measure.

It’s such a wasted opportunity. We should all probably be thinking about what steps we should take to have a healthy heart but people are going to use this tool and think oh well I’m fucked whatever I do and not bother.

Yes, really it could have been much better designed.

I did it too (got 2 years older than actual age due to not knowing BP and cholesterol).

Then I found a more detailed quiz which asked about food and booze preferences and consumption and exercise. I think it advised me to eat more healthily (slightly overweight) and exercise more.

I got a heart age of 47. I am almost 50. I knew my BP (actually just took it with my Omron wrist blood pressure monitor) as well as my cholesterol.

High blood pressure runs in my family but it somehow seems to have come down for me these last few years ever since I bought the wrist monitor.

Can't pharmacists test cholesterol, some kind of finger prick? Seems like a service they should offer.

pointless and depressing

I know my cholesterol is fine but I don't know the figures.

it told me i could live to 77, which based on what I've seen of my parents, makes me want to start smoking and drinking. I doubt that was the intention of the test!!

gamerwidow "Something that came up on twitter today is how are all the GPs going to cope when loads of perfectly healthy people start to flock to them to get their cholesterol checked as advised by this app?
It’s gping to cost a fortune and waste so much time"

this.

I only took it because I was bored at work!

I've posted before about my mother's heart failure at nearly 80. Modern medicine seems to be focused on length of life, like the medical profession will be overjoyed if 100 becomes the average.

Alardi yes some pharmacies do offer cholesterol checks. I looked online last night, Lloyds do it for £15.