Your heart age

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I'm 62 and it said my heart age was 80. My blood pressure was perfect, my HDL etc perfect, my weight to height perfect - but I have diabetes - my Dad died at 59 - my Mum at 70 so that evidently counted against me too. If my heart is THAT much older than me how is Flora going to help my diabetes !!!!
It's just an advertising ploy and OK we are making fun of it but if people are worried and then try the test it could scare the **** out of them. Unfair or what ?
 
I just went through it again, entering everything the same as before except that I had diabetes. It took 10 years off my heart age and said my heart was now 3 years 'younger' than the rest of me!😱🙄
 
32

I am utterly disgusted. Despite being of a good weight and having good cholesterol and blood pressure and parents who have had no problems. Stupid website trying to con people into buying flora products

*grumble*
 
Grrrrrr bloody internet I'm not gonna click on any links like that again, been feeling really healthy last while, real age 32 heart age 45! Could be worse I suppose!
 
vince13 said:
I'm 62 and it said my heart age was 80. My blood pressure was perfect, my HDL etc perfect, my weight to height perfect - but I have diabetes - my Dad died at 59 - my Mum at 70 so that evidently counted against me too. If my heart is THAT much older than me how is Flora going to help my diabetes !!!!
It's just an advertising ploy and OK we are making fun of it but if people are worried and then try the test it could scare the **** out of them. Unfair or what ?
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Yep, and as Northe demonstrated, I think it is unduly weighted against people with diabetes.

Salmonpuff said:
I am utterly disgusted. Despite being of a good weight and having good cholesterol and blood pressure and parents who have had no problems. Stupid website trying to con people into buying flora products.

Yep - personally I don't use spreads. Occassionally Sainsbury's Olive oil spread, and for an occassional treat, good old BUTTER! 😱 :D

Rossi-mac said: Grrrrrr bloody internet I'm not gonna click on any links like that again, been feeling really healthy last while, real age 32 heart age 45! Could be worse I suppose.

Ignore it Rossi - glad you've been feeling really healthy - you probably are! 🙂
 
Northerner said:
I've just written to Unilever to point out the problems with their calculator - will let you know if/when they reply! I was bored, OK?:D

It does slightly annoy me when they start pushing products like this (I think the cereal 'Optivita' is another one), as I'm sure a lot of people think that is all they need to consume to offset all the bad lifestyle choices they might be making. OK, I know it's marketing, but it plays on people's fears.
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Have just got a reply back from Flora/Unilever - this is what they said:

Hello from Flora

Dear Alan,

Thank you for your recent comments regarding the Flora Heart Age Calculator.

The Heart Age Calculator has been developed to give you a better understanding of your personal heart health. It is calculated with your personal medical information, including your cholesterol, blood pressure levels and weight (BMI), to help you understand how healthy your heart is, relative to your actual age. It is intended to help you understand your cardiovascular risk, and motivate you to make the changes you may need to make to your diet and lifestyle so you can have a better chance of living healthier for longer.

Heart Age is based on a well-established tool called the Framingham risk score, which provides a validated way of determining a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years. Your Heart Age is calculated using information about factors that are influencing people's heart health, such as age, gender, blood pressure, total and HDL (good) cholesterol, smoking and diabetic status.

While we acknowledge having good control of ones blood glucose control is very important, this does not have a bearing on ones heart age, nor does having a lower resting heart rate; however, this is a good marker for improved fitness levels.

We appreciate your comments on this issue and thank you for feedback.

Kind regards,

Muna Osman
Careline Advisor
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So, what they are saying is that (according to them) you are stuffed if you have diabetes, however good your control or, indeed, your fitness levels. So why do all the doctors, consultants and academics say that having good control and keeping fit reduces your risk of heart disease? I submit, your Honour, that they ae issuing statements from their nether regions!😱🙄
 
Northerner said:
So, what they are saying is that (according to them) you are stuffed if you have diabetes, however good your control or, indeed, your fitness levels. So why do all the doctors, consultants and academics say that having good control and keeping fit reduces your risk of heart disease? I submit, your Honour, that they ae issuing statements from their nether regions!😱🙄
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It's just as well they're there to correct us on these things, or we'd go on thinking that all those studies showing things like reducing our HbA1c and being fitter reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease were all right... 🙄 😛

For goodness sake, are they living in the dark ages??
 
ahhhhh mine is 65 and im 45 but sin of all sins im smoking!! got to stop i know but im down to 6 a day....after a year of diagnoises:(
 
am64 said:
ahhhhh mine is 65 and im 45 but sin of all sins im smoking!! got to stop i know but im down to 6 a day....after a year of diagnoises:(
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Just did it agian and if i didnt smoke:( my heart age would be still be 60 ....this is a bit ridicous..glad im not on a c**p day today
 
i will ignore it....but i will work harder on the smoking, i said i would once i lost weight...which is happening ...anyway the main thing is realy not flora and how old it is,.... but how 'good' your heart is.:D
 
have a word with tez when he comes on he might have some tips for you for will power and encouragement he gone a number of weeks now without smoking x
 
am64 said:
i will ignore it....but i will work harder on the smoking, i said i would once i lost weight...which is happening ...anyway the main thing is realy not flora and how old it is,.... but how 'good' your heart is.:D
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Stopping smoking is the absolute best thing you can do for your heart and your diabetes - you probably know that already! It can be hard for a few weeks whilst you get out of the habit, but once you've done it you will feel so much better! I stopped nearly 15 years ago after 20 years as a smoker, was diagnosed with diabetes last year. I'd really recommend a book called 'The Easy Way to Stop Smoking' by Allen Carr - it's a cheap and easy read and helped me after several attempts using other methods (patches, cutting down etc.)

Go for it, and good luck!:D
 
i'm 46 heart age 66 i go to the gym 5 days a week for 1 1/2 hours at a time and since being diagnosed with diabetes 4 years ago i have lost 8 stone this test is a total waste of time i am fitter and healthier now than i have ever been in my life before they know nothing
 
punkyfairy said:
i'm 46 heart age 66 i go to the gym 5 days a week for 1 1/2 hours at a time and since being diagnosed with diabetes 4 years ago i have lost 8 stone this test is a total waste of time i am fitter and healthier now than i have ever been in my life before they know nothing
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Wow Punky fairy well done! how inspiring !....and re the smoking thanks Im sure i can do it .....eventually ....probably with your support x😱
 
Punkyfairy - well done! 🙂

Actually, the test IS nonsense, I was researching it on the web. A number of sites offer a calculator based on the test, but they ALL say that it shouldn't be used by people who already have diabetes - so why include it as a question? I tried a slightly different test intended for (admittedly Type 2) diabetics and it said I had an 8% chance of a heart attack and 1% chance of stroke in the next ten years - I could improve this only by reducing my blood pressure by 1 unit systolic.

AM64 - of course we will support you!🙂
 
Apparently mine is 43, naturally I blame my parents!

Those sliding scales are completely ridiculous....

N you mentioned scaremongering earlier....DUK have their spooky looking "Silent Assassin" poster on a billboard next to my flat! B******s! Its a very spooky looking poster when you actually have diabetes! I resent it, and the fact I seriously doubt diabetes is the number one silent assassin in Brixton?!

PAH! I say.....pancreas calculator anyone?
 
Hello again y'all,

Northerner said:
I submit, your Honour, that they ae issuing statements from their nether regions!😱🙄
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Yep, probably because they can't be ar**d to do a bit of homework or listen to those that know 😉 But they are using a DIAGNOSTIC TOOL don't you know, so surely they must be right! What! diabetics don't neatly fit the tool - ahh it must be us that are wrong! Perhaps you can tell them this Northe when you're 90 and just come back from your morning run! :D
 
runner said:
Hello again y'all,

Yep, probably because they can't be ar**d to do a bit of homework or listen to those that know 😉 But they are using a DIAGNOSTIC TOOL don't you know, so surely they must be right! What! diabetics don't neatly fit the tool - ahh it must be us that are wrong! Perhaps you can tell them this Northe when you're 90 and just come back from your morning run! :D
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I doubt there'll be any of them left to tell!🙂

p.s. hope you are well runner!🙂
 
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