You know how old you are. And you probably know how old you feel. But do you know your cardiovascular age?Getty Images/iStockphoto
You know how old you are. And you probably know how old you feel. But do you know your cardiovascular age?
You should – this information has been proven to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. And now there is an easy way to discover your cardiovascular age.
The Heart Age Calculator was developed by renowned researcher Dr. Steven Grover and his team at McGill University Health Centre. Available online at
shoppersdrugmart.ca/myheartage, "It's a terrific tool," says Laura Weyland, a Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacist-owner in Toronto. "When it comes to your health, knowledge really is power."
Dr. Grover's research introduced the concept of cardiovascular age over 10 years ago, and this scientifically validated diagnostic tool is now recommended worldwide as part of the clinical assessment for the treatment of dyslipidemia (an abnormal amount of fats in the blood) and hypertension (high blood pressure).
Studies show that patients are significantly more likely to reach recommended treatment targets when they know that their cardiovascular system is aging faster than they are, but that they can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by reducing their blood pressure and cholesterol, exercising more, losing weight or giving up smoking, says Dr. Grover. "They are more likely to stick with treatment, more likely to modify their lifestyle and more likely to adhere to medication."
If you find you're at risk, and nine out of 10 Canadians are, "you then have the power at your fingertips to do something about it."
- Laura Weyland
is a Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacist-owner in Toronto
The biggest impediment to cardiovascular disease prevention is adherence, stresses Dr. Grover. "When prescribed a drug, 20 per cent of people won't take even the first pill, and another 30 per cent drop off in the first three months. At the end of a year, only 50 per cent will be on their medication. And lifestyle changes are even more difficult to stick with long term."
But individuals who know their cardiovascular age are 25 per cent more likely, on average, to reach their target blood cholesterol levels. The wider the gap between your cardiovascular age and your real age, the bigger the impact, explains Dr. Grover. "If you know you have a high cardiovascular age, three or four years higher than your age, for example, the likelihood of reaching your targets is increased by as much as 70 per cent."
It's also an effective way of supporting positive change, he says. "It's very hard to get people to take a drug or lose some weight and exercise if it isn't made clear to them what the benefits are at the end. Cardiovascular age provides positive feedback and shows that things do get better when you lose weight and exercise."
By answering a few simple questions, the Heart Age Calculator identifies your cardiovascular age and risk over the next 10 years, Ms. Weyland explains. If you find you're at risk, and nine out of 10 Canadians are, "you then have the power at your fingertips to do something about it." One man discovered that his family health history meant that he was at higher risk despite being extremely fit and conscientious about his diet. "It made him take a look at his cholesterol levels, which he had ignored before, and take the advice he received from his physician that much more seriously," says Ms. Weyland.
Others were inspired by the calculator to ask for help with smoking cessation, she reports. "Pharmacists now have many resources and products that can help you quit, and when you do, your risk of a heart attack starts to drop after only two days. Within a few years of quitting, your risk is half of what it was when you were smoking."