It has been found that in 3 out of 4 American’s their heart age is older than their chronological age. The Center for Disease Control wants you to take care of your heart health and are trying a new approach to drive the point home. The calculator takes into consideration factors like your age, gender, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, weight (BMI) and lets you calculate your heart age. Ideally you want your heart age to be the same or even lower than your actual age. The higher your heart age, compared to your chronological age, the higher your chances of developing heart disease and stroke.

There are 2 kinds of risk factors which determine your heart age. One are the modifiable risk factors like smoking, diabetes control, blood pressure control, weight, cholesterol, physical activity etc. The other factors which are non modifiable and not under our control are our age, sex and family history.The good news here is once you calculate your heart age you can take the necessary steps to lower it by making changes to the modifiable factors like bring your weight under control, quitting smoking, exercising regularly, controlling blood sugar and blood pressure, diet etc.

I am attaching the links to the CDC website from where you can calculate your heart age and BMI:

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/cardiovasculardisease/heartage.html

A body mass index calculator to estimate your weight:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

Find your heart age and make the changes for a healthier and happier heart!

*The information provided above is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician if you think you are suffering from a medical condition.