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CDC: Your heart may be aging you

Not so fond of birthdays as you get older?

Grim news: your heart may have celebrated even more than you.

On average, U.S. adults have a "heart age" that is seven years older than their chronological age, as measured by their risk of having a heart attack or a stroke.

That is the crux of a new public-service message from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And women are in worse shape than men.

Two out of five women have a heart age that is five or more years older than their actual age, whereas one out of two men are in that condition. The findings are based on the long-running Framingham Heart Study and on data from every state, the agency says.

People can make their heart younger in several ways, such as exercise, eating a healthy diet and, for those who smoke, quitting the habit, the CDC says.

Calculate your own heart age here.

Read more from the Check Up blog »