Cardiovascular age is a measure of how old your heart and blood vessels are compared to your chronological age.

It takes into account various risk factors for heart disease such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking history, and family history of heart disease.

Why is Knowing Your Cardiovascular Age Important?

Knowing your cardiovascular age is important because it can give you an idea of your risk for developing heart disease.

If your cardiovascular age is higher than your chronological age, it means that your heart and blood vessels are aging faster than they should be, which could increase your risk for heart disease. By knowing your cardiovascular age, you can take steps to improve your overall heart health and reduce your risk for heart disease.

How to Calculate Your Cardiovascular Age?

There are several different tools and calculators available online that can help you calculate your cardiovascular age.

These calculators typically ask you to input various risk factors for heart disease such as your age, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking history, and family history of heart disease. Based on these inputs, the calculator can estimate your cardiovascular age.

One simple way to calculate your cardiovascular age is to use the following formula:.

Cardiovascular Age = Chronological Age + (Blood Pressure/10) + (Total Cholesterol/5) – (HDL Cholesterol/2) – (If you are a smoker, add 10 years to your chronological age).

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For example, if you are 45 years old and your blood pressure is 130/80, your total cholesterol is 200, your HDL cholesterol is 50, and you are a non-smoker, your cardiovascular age would be:.

Cardiovascular Age = 45 + (130/10) + (200/5) – (50/2).

Cardiovascular Age = 45 + 13 + 40 – 25.

Cardiovascular Age = 73.

How to Improve Your Cardiovascular Age?

If your cardiovascular age is higher than your chronological age, don’t worry, there are steps you can take to improve your cardiovascular health and reduce your risk for heart disease. Some of these steps include:.

Quit smoking
Eat a healthy diet
Get regular exercise
Maintain a healthy weight
Reduce stress
Manage high blood pressure and cholesterol levels through lifestyle changes and/or medication
Take medications as prescribed by your doctor

By making these lifestyle changes and taking steps to improve your cardiovascular health, you can help reduce your risk for heart disease and improve your overall quality of life.