Heart health test!!!!!!

[File28]

Just taken the heart health test l am 60yr old and has given me a heart age of 76 the questions asked only relate to age weight height and smoking not asked about intense minutes excercise etc I eat healthy and usually average 1000 minutes intense excercise weekly and also have a low cholesterol even though I am at least 5 stone overweight I do 2 hours hiit on a bike 5 days per week and 40 minutes weight training daily and swim at the weekend.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

This was publicised on local radio this morning so I thought I would give it a go. It chucked me out first time as I said Yes to CVD so I re-ran it with a No. It came back with +30 years despite heathy BP and cholesterol. It seems Yes to diabetes, CVD in family and a BMI just over 25 counted massively against me. I then took the option to see the effect of losing weight - it had no effect. To me it is a crude gimmick!

[File28]

During my hiit bike excercise my bpm max's out around 150 and quickly recovers to 95 bpm as your heart is a muscle it does it good to give it a regular work out .I normally burn off 1100 calories during this excercise and enjoy it as long as I have my music playing instead of the awful crap they have playing in the gym

[jobe1968 in reply to File28]

My max is calculated at 120bpm. This has factor for beta blocker. When taking beta blockers it’s possible to be working much harder than your heart rate indicates. The bpm is effected by the beta blockers so the rehab physio did some joggers pokery with her calculator and came up with the 120.

I saw also on the web a system called 180. Which was 180 minus age. With an additional deduction for beta blockers of 10. Result same as physio but not sure if she uses same formula.

When walking briskly I keep heart rate in around 90bpm for an hour. If on a treadmill I alternate between 90 and 120 using the include to adjust the work rate.

Seems to be working as previously unwearable clothes now hang like sacks from me. I want to reduce my BMI but am motivated by the improvement in clothing fit and recovery time more than just a figure in KG.

Still some way to go so it’s a long haul for me. Decades of living well will take more than a month or so of remedial work!

Good luck on the bike. I would like to use more my bicycle but after a recent 50km ride and saddle soreness that lasted all week I am now building up my times. M

[bantam12]

It's a pointless test, I'm 63, all my awnsers were good, never smoked, no health problems listed, perfect weight and it gave an age of 76, I did my husband who's 65 and his heart age was 92 !!

[File28 in reply to bantam12]

Exactly people will be looking at their results and panicking then going to the GP surgery and putting even more strain on the nhs

[bantam12 in reply to File28]

We'll ive just done the test again with exactly the same answers and it's given me 66 so 10 below the first age of 76, just shows what a pointless exercise it is !

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Re-ran knocking off family history and diabetes, and it dropped from 95 to 61. Can't really be bothered with more scenarios. A app!

[jobe1968]

It’s a crude piece of software making a guess on limited information. Better it over scores and people go and see the doctor than allowing complacency to settle in.

I was overweight for years then bam heart attack. I wish somebody or something had told me years ago this has very real consequences. Be afraid of them and make changes now!

Good luck with the training. I am a larger man but can’t get near that kind of exercise routine. Mainly time related but still manage to fit in very brisk walks at lunch time and after work.

I am always very wary of one size fits all questionnaires where it relates to health. Far too many variables to get reliable results.

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These tests are at least useful in indicating you might have underlying problems that should have doctor tests - blood lipids etc; they are not diagnostic tools in themselves. Also, being that overweight puts a lot of strain on your heart and the intense exercise can, I'm sad to say, sometimes cause sudden death. Do yourself a favour and go see a doctor.

[Hidden]

My heart rate was exactly the age I am even though I’m slightly overweight and I have a higher cholesterol (7.1), I walk regularly too, don’t drink much alcohol and very seldom eat processed foods. My husband has a lower heart age even though he drinks on average 85 units of alcohol weekly, eats rubbish ie 2 chocolate biscuits every day, crisps and cakes, processed food by the bucket load, mostly fried food too. Not convinced by the Heart Age Test