AM I REALLY OVERWEIGHT AND HEADING FOR HEART ATTACK LIKE THE TEST SAID?

LAST Monday I was invited to a central London Randox clinic to try out its new blood test.

In a booth, a friendly nurse called Maria quizzed me about my height, weight and lifestyle habits and then took several small vials of my blood.

Two days later I received the results via email. While I was in good health, all six markers for heart disease were in the red. My cholesterol levels were higher than expected – another risk factor for heart disease and strokes. It was a bit worrying.

During my follow-up consultation, a nutritionist, Joanna, said little to reassure me. Their software had calculated my risk of heart disease in the next ten years was less than five per cent, but my cholesterol levels were ‘noticeably higher’ than most healthy 25-year-olds and I could face heart problems later in life.

‘Have you considered eating less red meat?’ she asked.

As a long-time vegetarian, I assured her that I had.

She also told me that with a BMI of 26, I needed to lose weight, which seemed crazy as at 5ft 9in with a 32in waist, I’m a fairly trim average.

After the call, I got a second opinion from The Mail on Sunday’s resident GP, Dr Ellie Cannon. She agreed with Randox that my total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels were ‘higher than I’d expect at your age’.

However, she added that cholesterol levels can be naturally raised due to genetics – often this isn’t necessarily a sign of heart problems.

What’s more, the ‘heart disease markers’ they check for would also appear raised should a person have recently had a viral infection, like a cold – I’d had one the week before.

I called my dad, who’s in great shape at 65. He explained that slightly high cholesterol ran in the family – but heart disease apparently does not.

Since my results, I’ve found myself googling ‘ways to reduce your cholesterol’ a lot.