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Thanks to the Heart Foundation, you can calculate the age of your heart and, knowing its age, take steps to look after it to live a longer life!
© Danielle Robertson Consulting Pty Ltd t/as DR Care Solutions
It’s National Heart Week (1 – 7 May 2023) this week and its aim is to reduce your heart disease risk.
The message is clear. Check the condition of your heart and look after it by taking three simple steps:
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Have a blood pressure test (and do so once every two years once over the age of 18).
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Calculate your heart age through this simple Heart Foundation online test.
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Book a Heart Health Check with your GP.
Every 30 minutes an Australian dies of heart disease.
Heart disease prevents your heart from working effectively in pumping blood to meet the needs of your body’s organs and tissues. It happens gradually and is the most common cause of heart attack; when the blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked.
Like Heart Foundation supporter Kylie[1], you can be feeling fit, healthy and in your 40s, when suddenly you are hit with chest pain, collapse and wake up in hospital a heart attack survivor.
Thankfully for Kylie, an ambulance and hospital was close by that day in February 2017. She was not one of the around 20 Australian women who die each day from heart disease[2].
Watch out ladies!
While currently more Australian men than women suffer from heart disease[3], in the US the number of women dying from the disease is outpacing the men[4].
In Australia, women are two times more likely to die of heart disease than breast cancer[5]. Certainly, women tend to be impacted more by stress and hypertension, bringing on higher blood pressure – a leading cause of heart disease[6].
How would you know you are developing heart disease?
Indicators include any one of more of the following:
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Shortness of breath
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Weakness or fatigue
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Difficulty breathing
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Fingernails or lips slightly blue in colour
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Not being able to sleep when lying flat
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Loss of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea
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Swelling in lower abdominal region
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Unexplained weight gain
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Frequent urination
Not a matter of fitness, it is your heart
Many women feeling these symptoms often conclude that they just need to improve their fitness. Unfortunately, something more sinister – heart disease – may be at play.
If you are over 45 years of age, or 30 if you come from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background, go and have a Medicare-funded Heart Health Check with your GP.
A Heart Health Check is usually 20 minutes and involves a blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, lifestyle and family history checks. The 20 minutes could extend your life a decade or two.
Calculate the age of your heart
Want to know if your heart is feeling your age? Use the Heart Foundation's Heart Age Calculator[7] to find out.
Please note: The information provided in this blog should not be treated as medical advice. Please visit your GP for medical advice.
Need help caring for a loved one? Please feel free to call me, Danielle Robertson, at any time for an initial discussion on how to set up the right care, support and assistance at the right time and in the right place.
Resources
[1] Kylie's Story:
[2] Heart Foundation: Women & Heart Disease
[3] Australian Government Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Heart, Stroke & Vascular Disease - Australian Facts
[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Lower Your Risk for the Number 1 Killer of Women
[5] Heart Research Australia: Women & Heart Disease
[6] DR Care Solutions: Stress Down Day - Real Time Tips On Reducing Stress
[7] Heart Foundation: Heart Age Calculator
