心臟減齡的七種方式

官華宇

Work out your heart age

You may look and feel young， but is your heart letting you down？ Heart age is a concept that captures your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. There are factors that you cant change or control： getting older， being male （until 55—then women start to catch up） and having a family history of cardiovascular disease （CVD）. Then there are the factors within your control： smoking， exercise， diet and alcohol. There are also hidden factors that dont cause symptoms but increase risk， such as high blood pressure， cholesterol or blood glucose （diabetes）. You can calculate your heart age using a simple online tool， but its more accurate if you know your cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Get a health check

Every 40- to 74-year-old in England is entitled to a health check every five years at a GP surgery1， pharmacy or， in some areas， in local libraries or mobile units in shopping centres. Over-75s can have an annual checkup. Under-40s are generally at low risk but should see their GP if a close family member has had a heart attack or stroke at a young age （under 55 for a male relative， under 65 for a female）. You can buy a DIY cholesterol-testing kit and measure your blood pressure at home， but it can be useful to have a discussion with a health professional， too.

Quit smoking

At least one-third of all CVD is attributable to five risk factors： cigarettes， high blood pressure， alcohol， high cholesterol and obesity—in that order of importance. Other factors are inactivity and a poor diet with not much fruit and veg. So， start with quitting smoking; it will be hard， yes—nicotine is more addictive than heroin—but， if you value your health， its the most worthwhile thing to do. Every year， nearly half of all smokers in the UK try to stop， but only 2-3% succeed. Best to take all the help you can get; the evidence is that youre more likely to succeed if you get psychological support， nicotine-replacement therapy2 and prescribed drugs to reduce cravings.

Get your blood pressure down

An ideal blood pressure （BP） lies between 90/60 and 120/80 and is considered to be high if consistently above 140/90. Its a measure of the pressure in the heart when it pumps out blood round the body over the pressure when the heart is resting. BP rises as you get older， fatter， less active， drink more alcohol and eat more salt. You may have an inherited tendency to high BP so even if you are slim， teetotal， active and eat a great diet， you may be advised to take medication to keep your BP in the healthy range.

Do enough exercise to stop you talking

Two and a half hours a week of moderate physical activity lowers your risk of CVD by a third. To count as moderate activity， you need to feel yourself getting warmer and your heart and breathing rate increase. Vigorous activity， like a fast run or high-intensity interval training3， means you cant really talk without pausing for breath. Any activity is better than none and vigorous activity is probably better than more leisurely exercise. Parkruns4 are free， weekly， 5K runs that take place in 490 parks throughout the UK. There is no downside to training up and joining in one of these joyful community events.

Get the good cholesterol up， and the bad down

Cholesterol is a fat found in food （e.g. meat and dairy products） and made in the liver. Total cholesterol circulating in the blood is made up of low-density lipoprotein5 （LDL）， which clogs up arteries， and high-density lipoprotein6 （HDL）， which is protective. Ideally， total cholesterol should be under 5mmol/L and LDL under 3mmol/L. But to interpret your cholesterol levels， you need to factor in any other risk factors to get an overall risk score. If it is high， you will be advised to exercise more and eat a low-cholesterol diet. If that doesnt work， you may be offered medication such as statins7.

Dont take heart age too seriously; its just a guide

My heart age is apparently eight years older than my actual age; I ticked all the right boxes， but my dad had a heart attack at a young age. This despite the fact that his lifestyle was very different to mine; he smoked and never knowingly did any exercise. So， while the advice on heart-age-test sites is generally good， dont get too hung up on the figures; they are risk scores and dont necessarily predict what will happen to you. At least I hope not.

測算心臟年齡

也許你看著年輕，自我感覺也不老，但你的心臟有沒有拖后腿呢？心臟年齡是一個反映心臟病與中風發病風險的概念。有些因素是你不能改變或控制的：比如變老、性別為男性（女性55歲以后發病風險開始趕上男性）以及有心血管疾病的家族史。也有一些因素是你能控制的：抽煙、鍛煉、飲食與酒精攝入。同時還有一些潛在因素，它們雖不會引發病癥，但會增加風險，比如高血壓、高膽固醇和高血糖（糖尿?。??？梢杂靡粋€簡單的網絡工具來測算心臟年齡，但是如果你知道自己的膽固醇水平和血壓，計算結果會更加準確。

做健康檢查

每一位年齡在40—74歲之間的英國公民都有權享受五年一次的健康檢查，這項檢查可以在全科醫生診所、藥房進行，某些地區還可以在當地圖書館或購物中心的流動站點進行。75歲以上的公民則享有每年一次的檢查。一般而言，40歲以下的人群發病風險較低，但如果他們的近親在年輕時（男性親屬低于55歲，女性親屬低于65歲）曾有心臟病發作史或中風史，那他們也應該去找全科醫生做檢查。你可以買一個家用膽固醇檢測儀，也可以在家測血壓，但是咨詢保健專業人士也是很有用的。

戒煙

至少三分之一的心血管疾病都可以歸結為五個危險因素，按照它們的重要性排列如下：香煙、高血壓、酒精、高膽固醇和肥胖。其他因素包括缺乏運動和蔬菜水果攝取不足的飲食習慣。所以戒煙就是第一步;這的確很艱難——尼古丁比海洛因的成癮性更強——但如果你在乎自己的健康，戒煙將是一件最值得做的事情。每年英國有近一半的煙民嘗試戒煙，但其中只有2%—3%的人能成功，所以最好接受你能得到的所有幫助。有證據顯示，如果得到心理支持、采用尼古丁替代療法以及靠處方藥物控制煙癮，戒煙成功的可能性會更大。

降低血壓

理想的血壓水平在90/60和120/80之間，如果持續超過140/90，則被視為高血壓。血壓值就是心臟向全身泵送血液時的壓力與它舒張時壓力的比值。當你變老、變胖、運動量減少、攝入更多酒精和食鹽時，血壓就會升高。你也許會有遺傳的高血壓傾向，所以即使你現在身材苗條、滴酒不沾、熱衷運動且飲食健康，你也最好服用藥物將血壓維持在健康范圍內。

足量運動直到大口喘氣

每周兩個半小時中等強度的體育鍛煉可以把心血管疾病的發病風險降低三分之一。要達到中等運動強度，你需要感覺到全身變熱而且心跳和呼吸加速。諸如快跑或高強度間歇訓練一類的劇烈運動意味著你說話的時候必須停下來喘口氣。任何強度的運動都比不運動要好，劇烈運動或許比慢悠悠的運動要好。公園跑是每周舉辦一次、每次跑步5公里的免費活動，英國490個公園里都有這類活動。進行鍛煉的同時參與這些令人愉快的社區活動是有百利而無一害的。

增加有益膽固醇，減少有害膽固醇

膽固醇是一種存在于食物（比如肉類和奶制品）中的脂肪，它在肝臟中合成。在血液中循環的總膽固醇包括了低密度脂蛋白和高密度脂蛋白，前者會導致動脈堵塞，后者則起到保護動脈的作用。在理想狀態下，總膽固醇應該低于5mmol/L，且低密度脂蛋白應該低于3mmol/L。但要想解讀你的膽固醇水平，你需要考慮所有其他風險因素，這樣才能得到一個整體的風險評分。如果風險評分較高，需要多參加體育鍛煉，同時保持低膽固醇飲食。如果這些都不管用，可能需要服藥，比如他汀類藥物。

不要太在意心臟年齡，那只是個提示工具

我的心臟年齡顯然比我的實際年齡要大八歲;我自己的各項評估良好，但我父親在年輕時曾有過一次心臟病發作。而事實上他的生活方式跟我差別很大：他吸煙，而且從不刻意鍛煉。所以，雖然心臟年齡測算網站上的建議大多是好的，也不要過分糾結于那些數值，它們只是風險評分，并不一定能預測將來發生在你身上的事。起碼我希望它們不能。? ? ? ? ? ? ? □

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎選手）