A hale and hearty health check

It tells you whether your heart’s age is higher or lower than your biological age and outlines your chances of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years. I was reluctant to do it.

What if I learned I had a really high risk of a heart attack in the next decade? Frantically look out that bucket list and complete it as rapidly as I could?

Some critics say the test is a blunt tool but the organisations behind it insist that it helps people to see the direct impact lifestyle changes can have on their heart’s health: “Knowing your risk of developing heart and circulatory disease is crucial to taking control of your health.”

I did the test without knowing my cholesterol count or blood pressure, so my resulting heart age (66, hmmm) was just an estimate, based on the national average.

I had a 12.3 per cent risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next decade; on average, someone like me could expect to live to 78 without suffering either.

I hate the sight of blood, especially my own, but decided that a cholesterol test might be a good idea.

If I did the test correctly, my cholesterol count seems to be satisfactory. (If I didn’t, which seems likely, I have just wasted 12 quid.)

I re-do the test; my heart age is an estimated 58 (or between 56 and 59, depending on blood pressure). I have a 7.1 per cent risk of having a stroke or heart attack in the next 10 years.

“On average,” the results page says, “someone like you can expect to live to the age of 81 without having a heart attack or stroke.”

Plenty of time, then, to devise a bucket list – unless fate has other plans in mind.

In the meantime, I’ll ask the editor if I can get the cholesterol test on expenses. I’m sure he’ll go for it. Find the test by Googling “NHS heart age test”. Good luck.

‘‘ I hate the sight of blood, especially my own, but decided that a cholesterol test might be a good idea