Online heart age test in just nonsense, health chiefs are told

Online heart age test in just nonsense, health chiefs are told amid fears they are needlessly scaring people

• Public Health England launched campaign urging people to take its online test
• But leading scientists have criticised the Heart Age Test as ‘ridiculous’
• They say it can overestimate a person’s heart age if – like most – the individual does not happen to know their cholesterol levels and blood pressure readings 

Health bosses have been accused of needlessly scaring people into believing they could suffer an early heart attack or stroke.

Last Tuesday, Public Health England launched a major campaign urging people over 30 to take its online Heart Age Test, warning that ‘four out of five people have a heart age higher than their actual age’.

The initiative generated huge publicity, with the BBC giving it prominent coverage.

In a promotional tweet, PHE stated: ‘Did you know, having a heart age older than your actual age means you are at a greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke?’

Health bosses have been accused of needlessly scaring people into believing they could suffer an early heart attack or stroke

But leading scientists have criticised the Heart Age Test as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘evidence-free nonsense’.

They say it can overestimate a person’s heart age if – like most – the individual does not happen to know their cholesterol levels and blood pressure readings.

In the absence of these readings, the test simply calculates an individual’s heart age using information the person has given including date of birth, height, weight, known health conditions and family history of cardiovascular disease.

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It then plugs in the gaps for cholesterol and blood pressure using national averages. This can result in the assumption that the individual’s heart is in a worse condition than is the case.

Dr Ben Goldacre, author of the book Bad Science, wrote on Twitter: ‘This test is ridiculous. Try it. PHE’s tool tells a woman in her 30s that her heart age is older than her real age because she’s not had her cholesterol done. And tells her to get her cholesterol done by [going to see her] GP.’

Last Tuesday, Public Health England launched a major campaign urging people over 30 to take its online Heart Age Test 

A spot test by a 43-year-old male gave a heart age of 41 when he entered all his details including cholesterol and blood pressure. When he omitted these readings, his heart age shot up five years to 46.

Reader Pat Powell, from Cardiff, said: ‘I took the online test without including my blood pressure or cholesterol readings. My heart age came out as 10 years older than I am. When I re-did the test with my blood pressure and cholesterol readings, my heart age was spot on. Is this test just scaremongering?’

At the end of the Heart Age Test, people who did not enter their cholesterol or blood pressure readings are advised: ‘Make an appointment with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist to get your blood pressure and cholesterol tested.’ Dr Goldacre said this advice could result in tens of thousands of perfectly healthy people in their 30s booking ‘totally unnecessary GP consultations’ at considerable expense to the NHS.

He feared PHE was prioritising media impact and public engagement over producing a rigorous test that gave meaningful results.

Fellow science writer Professor Tim Spector, author of The Diet Myth, weighed in: ‘More evidence-less nonsense from PHE.’

Others pointed out that the Heart Age Test, which is a collaboration between PHE, the British Heart Foundation and University College London, takes no account of how much exercise an individual does.

But Professor Jamie Waterall, PHE’s national lead for cardiovascular disease prevention, dismissed the criticism.

He said there was ‘no evidence to suggest’ the test would create extra demand for GPs, adding: ‘What we have seen is a big increase in people accessing lifestyle information, which is fantastic.

‘High blood pressure and high cholesterol are two major causes of heart attack and stroke but millions don’t know they are affected, so the test encourages anyone that doesn’t know their blood pressure and cholesterol levels to find out.

‘The Heart Age Test has strong clinical and academic support as it is based on guidelines from Joint British Societies recommendations on the prevention of cardiovascular disease.’

 

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