Did you know that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among adults in Canada? That is pretty alarming! I can definitely relate to this statistic as both my maternal grandparents died of a heart disease in their 60’s. My grandfather was an avid smoker, which did not help him to have a good, healthy heart. As an 11 year old, sitting at his funeral, this is what stood out for me: he smoked, had a heart attack, and died. It really hit me hard. Looking back, I think now that’s why I have never smoked a cigarette to this day. You probably understand why February is a month that is, yes, close to my heart.
Nowadays, we are lucky to have the opportunity of being more informed on how to stay healthy and take ownership of our health thanks to associations like the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. They recommend calculating your cardiovascular age and knowing your cardiovascular risk profile, because research shows that, if you do, it will lead to better heart health management. There is an online tool called The Heart Age Calculator on the Shoppers Drug Mart website that will help you calculate your cardiovascular age and assess the risk of you having a heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular disease within the next 10 years by answering simple lifestyle questions like your age, gender, weight, age, daily habits, and more. It is the only scientifically validated online tool that provides a personalized heart age and cardiovascular risk profile as recommended by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines.
Let’s have at least 10, 000 Canadians take the Heart Age test to learn your heart age and get a better understanding of your heart health! You might think you’re healthy as a horse, but your heart may be aging faster than you, so why not take the test to find out? I sure did, and felt more at ease knowing the results!
Several factors influence your heart age, such as blood pressure level, cholesterol, and the presence of risk factors like smoking. Since my 40’s, I have taken the habit of stopping by Shoppers once in a while and have my blood pressure tested with their electronic machine at the pharmacy. It’s a great tool that shows your level of blood pressure. Technically, the higher your blood pressure is, the higher your risk of heart disease. Why not take advantage of the Blood Pressure Awareness Day on February 8th to learn more about the condition of your heart with your pharmacist!
The result was definitely a relief. I guess I am taking the right steps to a healthy heart! If your heart is older than you are, you should probably seek an appointment with your doctor to discuss the results. Your physician can help with implementing a healthier lifestyle.
There are 5 steps to be heart healthy:
- Stop Smoking
- Monitor your blood pressure
- Apply an active lifestyle
- Regulate your cholesterol level
- Take control
What are you waiting for? Be proactive and go take the Heart Age Calculator Test! Encourage your loved ones to do the same.
You are welcome to share your results in the comment below!
Disclosure – Although this post has been sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart Inc., the opinions and language are all my own, and in no way do they reflect the views, opinions or positions of Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. or its affiliates or licensees. Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. makes no representation as to accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information within this blog post and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or for any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.
Thanks for sharing about this! Going to go take it and share it with my friends/family.
I love all of the great resources, such as this Heart Health Calculator, that allows us to stay on top of our health! And it’s SO quick and easy. Only take a couple minutes. 🙂
I did know that b/c of the fact that my grandfather had heart disease so it’s been on my radar for a long time.
It’s so scary when there is history in the family of heart disease, especially when it’s on both sides; it seems inevitable that it will spread over generations and this is such a good reason to make changes to prevent that. Thanks for sharing your story.
I’ve done the blood pressure check too. It’s kind of fun to see what it says (but I’ve never had blood pressure issues so that probably wouldn’t be the case if I had high bp).
Interesting, going to check this out for myself.
Reading everyones stories, it is shocking to see how many of us have been affected by heart issues. Hopefully this tool will help prevent more in the future!
I’ve got strangely low blood pressure, so I guess that’s finally a good thing! 🙂 My age came out to 39 and I am 42, so that is a relief! But I’d like to my heart even healthier, that’s for sure!
Great post! I tried the heart calculator and my heart is younger than my age. I feel great about this!
Such a useful article that really makes you think. Thanks for sharing. Visiting here as part of the SITS Girls Comment Love event. 🙂
Wonderful post! Tried it and very useful.
I am scared to take this and find out, I feel like I live a pretty healthy lifestyle, but I know there is always room from improvement. Stopping by The SITS Girls.
Thanks for all of the great info, and the heart age calculator! Stopping by via SITS. 🙂
Some great advice! As a never smoker I would hope that helps but there are some great tools to be sure. Found you thanks to #SITSBlogging 🙂
Very interesting article! I’m not 30 yet, but it’s never too early to start thinking about my heart health. I already know that I need to be doing more physical activity.
Great information, thanks so much for sharing!
I have a blood pressure monitor in the house and I try to keep checking mine to make sure it stays low. High BP runs in my family as does heart disease.
Important information! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for this. It’s so important we all take care of our heart health.
Thanks for sharing, I took the test and my age came out 53.4, my real age is 45
Heart disease is a strong part of my paternal family and it is scary. I have every hope of taking this little test to determine my heart age, but we do not own a scale to get my weight. I have always been thin, but in my more mature age realize that thin does not equal healthy. Thanks for this.
Thanks for this post,time to get checkin