A diagram showing the inner workings of an artery
The rising epidemic in obesity and diabetes in the U.S. is frustrating heart experts in their attempts to reduce heart disease. The message about living a healthy lifestyle and keeping weight down just doesn’t seem to be getting through. It is hoped, however, that looking at our health from a different perspective – in terms of our ‘vascular age’ we might be motivated to make the necessary lifestyle changes to cut our future risk of heart problems.
“There’s a saying that ‘you’re as old as your arteries,’ meaning that the state of your arteries is more important than your actual age in the evolution of heart disease and stroke,” Says Geetha Raghuveer, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine. “We found that the state of the arteries in [some] children is more typical of a 45-year-old than of someone their own age.”
How is vascular age calculated?
By taking into account such things as age, sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, whether or not you smoke, as well as any instances of stroke, heart failure or arterial disease, a health professional can tell us the ‘real’ age of our arteries. A 35-year-old might turn out to have the blood vessels of an average 80-year-old — a real shock to the system.
A look at the risk of heart disease based on vascular age
Could my vascular age affect my life insurance?
Your ‘vascular age,’ along with other indicators could well have a bearing on the cost of life insurance you can get. The estimated age of your blood vessels, if significantly higher than your real age will indicate to a life insurer that you are more likely to die younger, from heart complications. Life insurance companies cannot ignore this kind of information when assessing your premiums.
Make lifestyle changes to lower your vascular age
By changing your habits and lifestyle you can rapidly improve the health of your arteries. By adopting a healthy lifestyle not only will your life expectancy increase, but your risk to a life insurance company will decrease. You may even end up having a vascular age which is significantly lower than your real age, which will make you an even better bet when it comes to taking our life assurance.
photo credit: perpetualplum