Young at heart? Take the test and find out

How old do you think your heart age is?  A new health campaign being launched this week can help you find out by taking a simple online test.

Shropshire’s HeartAge Campaign led by Shropshire Council’s public health team in partnership with the HeartAge Partnership is part of an innovative drive to help people understand their heart health and how lifestyle factors can affect it.

Shropshire HeartAge is a simple online test that asks a few questions about your health and lifestyle and uses this information to calculate how old your heart is.  The assessment asks you questions around your age, height, weight, how active you are, and whether you smoke.  The test also gives you the opportunity to include your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

The aim of the campaign is to motivate Shropshire residents to adopt healthy lifestyle habits that will help reduce their risk of heart disease, stroke and chronic health problems, such as type 2 diabetes..

Comparing your heart age to your actual  age gives you an understanding on how healthy your heart is.  For those whose heart age is greater than their actual  age, Shropshire HeartAge will provide help and advice on how to improve it.

Shropshire HeartAge encourages those eligible to take up their entitlement for a free NHS health check.  It also provide details of how to access local services and support for anyone seeking to make lifestyle improvements, such as stopping smoking, managing their weight or increasing their levels of physical activity.

Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for public health, said:

“People are usually told of their risk of heart disease as a percentage, but often many people find this way of explaining their risk is difficult to get their head around.  Shropshire HeartAge is still an estimate of your risk of heart disease, but aims to give it in a more easily understandable manner.

“I really would encourage people to take up Shropshire HeartAge test; it’s quick and simple, and if your heart age is higher than your actual age, the online assessment will provide details of how to access local services and support to help improve your lifestyle.”

Fronting the Shropshire HeartAge campaign are local residents Andy Skinner and Collette Davies, who were chosen out of several HeartAge champions to be the face of the campaign.

Holly Whelan,  CEO of HeartAge and Behaviour Smart Services, added:

“We are really excited to be working with Shropshire Council and local Shropshire residents on this campaign.

“Shropshire’s HeartAge is about encouraging people and local communities to adopt healthier lifestyle habits that will help improve their heart health.  The first step is to find out your heart age and how to improve it.  This is where Shropshire’s HeartAge test can help.  Over six million people have already taken the test around the world, and we are now very excited to be working in Shropshire to bring this to life at the local community level. ”

To find out your heart age, take the test now at or www.heartage.me/shropshire.

For more information about Shropshire’s HeartAge campaign, email Gill Jones at gill.jones@smarthealthsolutions.co.uk.

Further information

Shropshire Council’s public health and the HeartAge Partnership have been working together to create a localised version of the global HeartAge online test.  The simple online test asks a few questions about your health and lifestyle, and uses this information to calculate how old your heart is.  Comparing an individual’s HeartAge to their real age gives them an understanding on how healthy their heart is.

Since it was first launched in 2009 in partnership with the World Heart Federation, HeartAge has received widespread support from healthcare professionals as a solution to help sustain behaviour changes in multiple areas, such as healthy eating, increased physical activity and smoking cessation.

Shropshire’s HeartAge test is designed to give you an overall idea of the health of your heart, and a general indication of how lifestyle related factors may affect your heart health. This test is not intended to be a medical diagnostic, nor a substitute for professional medical advice, but it will give you a good general indication of whether there’s more you can do to take care of your heart.