A publicly backed on-line test of heart health has found thousands of people with a "heart age" ten years greater than their real age, according to figures published today.
Among 33,000 aged 50 who took the heart age test, 10% were diagnosed as having a heart age of 60 or more.
So far 1.2 million people have taken the on-line test, backed by Public Health England.
Out of these, as many as 167,000 had a heart age at least ten years older than they are.
Public Health England says the survey is the only known way of measuring heart age. The survey is most accurate when respondents know their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Associate Professor Jamie Waterall, of Public Health England, said: "While trends have recently shown incidence of cardiovascular disease (including heart attack and stroke) declining in recent years, it is still the main cause of death amongst men and the second highest cause of death in women.
"Around half of those taking the test since it launched in February 2015 did not know their blood pressure numbers. High blood pressure is often symptomless and 5.6 million people in England currently have high blood pressure but do not know it."
Professor John Deanfield, who developed the test, said: "The Heart Age Test takes the results of considerable research, and translates this into messages that we can all apply to our heart health. Understanding personal risk, together with opportunities from intervention, empowers people to take control of their own cardiovascular health.
"It’s about convincing people their heart health really matters, and if they take action early in life and sustain that, they will get a big lifetime benefit on their future risk of heart disease."
Leave a Reply