How to keep a healthy heart

Celine Dion may have to change the title of her famous love song - My Heart Will Go On, for according to medical experts with each passing day, our hearts are ageing faster than other parts of our bodies and are finding it difficult to go on. Your heart age can be different from your actual age.

A sedentary lifestyle, stress, long work hours, a growing appetite for junk food, excessive smoking and drinking are some of the factors that can make your heart older a lot faster than you actually age.

Age: Just a number?
You may know the shape of your heart, but there are sites online which claim to calculate the age of your heart (see box). However, cardiologist Dr Hasmukh Ravat says you shouldn't rely on them, "There is no way to calculate the age of your heart. When doctors use the term 'ageing heart', what they are referring to is a tendency among young people who would otherwise have a very low risk of heart disease now grappling with cardiovascular disease, which is largely prevalent at later stages in life."

Teens under attack
Heart age is an estimated 'age'of the heart as compared to a person's chronological age. It's based on the influence that physical and lifestyle factors have on heart health. The age group of people suffering from heart disease now includes teenagers, claims Ravat. He says, "I have had cases of 17 and 19-year-olds coming to me with heart problems."

It's essential that you measure your risk of heart disease and make a plan for how to prevent it in the near future. Shailesh Trivedi, a 21-year-old working professional, who suffered a heart attack a year ago, adds, "I was lucky to survive. Often, we do not realise the toll junk food and a stressed environment can take on your heart. I had to get an angioplasty done to rectify the damage to my heart. Counselling, quitting smoking, regular exercise and modifications in my diet helped me get through it."

Whatever your age, keeping your heart healthy is well worth it, because a strong heart is ultimately what keeps you young and vital.

Here's how to keep a healthy heart
If you have high cholesterol, avoid red meat Avoid fried, junk, salty and oily food Exercise regularly, go for a brisk walk, for 45 minutes to an hour, three to four times a week. It helps increase good cholesterol Avoid drinking too much alcohol. Drinking in moderation is not harmful. One or two pegs a day, two or three times a week, is okay Check your weight and maintain it Quit smoking and control BP and blood sugar levels.

Test your heart age
The heart forecaster reveals your age after getting your heart numbers, which are your blood pressure and your cholesterol ratio. With a few simple questions, the Heart Age Forecast will estimate the current condition of your heart. It will also give you insight into how healthy your heart is and also the effect that your lifestyle has on your body. You can do the test on heartagecalculator.com.au/. If you want to have very accurate answers, you need to submit your cholesterol levels and blood pressure. However, it will also do the calculations based on average numbers for your age and other risk factors.