heart age somebody may vary by age of birthhis. Because, heart age also influenced by various factors. People who have certain diseases or unhealthy habits, such as frequent smoking and rarely exercising, can have an older heart age.
There are many factors that affect the age of the heart, including body mass index, gender, history of disease, to lifestyle.
For example, in people aged 45 years, the age of the heart can be older, which is around 50-55 years, if they are overweight or obese, have high blood pressure, rarely exercise, and often smoke.
Causes of Older Heart Age than Birth Age
As mentioned above, there are various factors that can make the heart age older than its actual age, namely:
1. Smoking habits
If you have been smoking a lot or inhaling secondhand smoke (passive smoking), you should stay away from this habit now. Smoking has been shown to accelerate heart aging and significantly increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Can't believe it? Several studies have shown that ex-smoker's heart age can be 14 years younger than when he was still smoking.
2. Diabetes
Normal blood sugar ranges from 70-100 mg/dL when checked after fasting. However, in people with diabetes, fasting blood sugar levels can be more than 126 mg/dL.
Those who have diabetes are at high risk for cardiovascular aging and are prone to suffering from heart disease, stroke, and other complications of diabetes, such as kidney failure and neurological disorders.
3. High blood pressure
High blood pressure can affect the age of your heart so it is important to maintain blood pressure. In adults, normal blood pressure is below 120 mmHg systolic and below 80 mmHg diastolic, or reads below 120/80 mmHg.
It is important to control blood pressure properly. If you have high blood pressure or hypertension, you will be more at risk for cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease, angina, stroke, or heart failure.
4. Obesity
Obesity is also one of the triggers for the age of the heart being older than the age of birth. Obesity not only affects heart health, but also affects other parts of the body, including the brain, blood vessels, liver, gallbladder, bones, and joints.
5. High cholesterol
High levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) can cause blockage of blood vessels in the heart. This blockage can then reduce the blood flow to the heart, potentially causing heart disease.
When affected by this disease, heart function will be disrupted and it seems as if the heart ages.
How to make a youthful heart
Paying attention to the age of the heart is important because the older your heart is, the higher your risk for heart disease or stroke. Therefore, to keep your heart young, there are several things you need to do, namely:
Avoid or stop smoking
If you want to have a youthful heart, don't smoke. If you already have, try to stop this habit slowly. For example, you are used to smoking after eating, then replace it with other habits, such as chewing gum.
Maintain ideal body weight
Control your weight to stay ideal by implementing a healthy diet with balanced nutrition, such as increasing the consumption of vegetables and fruit, nuts, seeds, and lean meats.
Then, limit the intake of high-calorie foods or drinks, fatty foods, high salt and sweet foods that contain refined sugar.
This is important to note because by limiting these foods, the risk for developing high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes will also be reduced. The risk for obesity which contributes to serious diseases such as heart disease and osteoarthritis can also be reduced.
To find out the ideal weight limit, you can calculate the body mass index by dividing the total body weight (kg) by the total height in meters squared (m2). Normally, the body mass index of Asian populations is in the range of 18.5-22.9.
Do sport routinely
Regular exercise is beneficial for maintaining ideal body weight, controlling blood sugar levels and blood pressure, reducing stress, and maintaining heart health.
Some examples of good exercise for heart health are cardio exercise or gymnastics, aerobics, strength training, jogging, cycling, swimming and jumping rope.
In order to maintain heart health, you are advised to do this exercise for 30 minutes every day and or at least 5 times a week.
Manage stress well
In maintaining a healthy heart, you also need to manage stress well. The reason is, when you are stressed, your body will produce stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones will make blood pressure and heart rate increase.
If stress is allowed to persist for a long time, this can make the heart damage more quickly and age due to the increased workload. Chronic stress can also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In addition to applying the method above, it is no less important in an effort to maintain heart health is to undergo check-up and heart checks, including blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels regularly to a cardiologist.
Come on, keep your heart age so that it stays young, so that this one organ of the body is always healthy and able to work well.
