One way to assess your risk for heart attack and strokes is to learn your heart age. Heart age is based on risk factors. Some you can not control such as family history and age. Factors that can be changed include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and diabetes.
Changing unhealthy habits can make your heart younger to reduce your risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most US adults have a heart age older than their actual age putting them at risk for heart attacks and strokes.
The CDC recommends Americans to:
- Learn about heart age and how to improve it.
- Start by choosing a risk factor or two that you’re ready to change, like smoking or high blood pressure, and focus on improving them first.
- Work with your doctor to make heart healthy choices for a lower heart age.
- Take action at any age to lower your heart age and keep it low over time.
To find out how old your heart is based on your lifestyle, click here.
