Heart Health And Longevity: Strategies For A Long, Healthy Life
Heart disease remains one of the UK’s leading causes of illness, with an estimated eight million individuals currently living with cardiovascular disease in the UK.
However, the message from cardiologists is reassuring: around 80% of cases can be avoided with lifestyle changes.
We spoke to Dr Ravi Assomull, founding partner and consultant cardiologist at One Heart Clinic, about heart health and longevity, including prevention, habits, and when testing matters. His advice is clear: “It’s never too late to start looking after your heart.”
When should you start thinking about heart health and longevity?
According to Dr Assomull, cardiovascular awareness should begin earlier than most people assume. “We need to begin education from school age… but for adults, screening for cardiovascular disease is generally recommended from your forties.”
However, some people should start earlier. You may benefit from checks in your thirties (ideally, before the age of 35) if a close relative has had heart disease under the age of 60; you smoke; you have high cholesterol or raised blood sugar; you have diabetes; or you are overweight or inactive.
For most healthy adults without risk factors, your early forties is a sensible starting point.
Signs and symptoms you shouldn’t ignore for good heart health
Your body often shows early warnings when something isn’t quite right, and spotting them can make a significant difference to your future health. Even seemingly minor symptoms can point towards changes in cardiovascular health, so it’s sensible to get checked sooner rather than later.
Speak to a GP or cardiologist if you notice:
- Chest pain or tightness, particularly during exercise or brisk walking
- Persistent palpitations that continue beyond a few seconds
- Palpitations accompanied by dizziness, faintness or a feeling of imbalance
- Blackouts, near-faints or unexplained light-headed episodes, even if they are brief
- New or worsening high blood pressure
- Blood test results indicating high cholesterol, raised blood sugar or pre-diabetes
These symptoms don’t automatically mean there is a serious problem; many people discover a non-cardiac cause. But the only way to be sure is to have them assessed. Early advice protects your long term health and provides peace of mind.
What should you look for in heart screening?
Heart screening helps people understand how well their heart is functioning and whether there are early signs of disease that may not yet cause symptoms. The right rests can offer reassurance, highlight risks worth acting on, and guide decisions about lifestyle or treatment.
For those who are choosing to be proactive about their cardiovascular health, One Heart Clinic provides a range of self-pay screening packages that align with age, background and individual needs.
Under 40s healthy heart screening
Designed for younger adults with no symptoms, this option provides a useful baseline picture of heart function and blood health. It includes:
- Consultation with a Consultant Cardiologist
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Echocardiogram
- Blood test panel (typically covering cholesterol profile, blood glucose, kidney and liver function, and thyroid markers)
- In-office blood pressure check
Over 40s healthy heart screening
This package contains all of the above, plus a:
- CT coronary calcium scan, which detects hardened plaque in the arteries – a strong indicator of early heart disease, even when people feel well
Targeted assessment pathways
Additional options provide answers for people with specific concerns, including:
- Cardiovascular risk assessment: for high cholesterol, diabetes or family history or lifestyle risk
- Step up to fitness: for those preparing for strenuous training or returning to training after a time out
- Cardiovascular risk assessment: taking a deeper look at hormones, insulin sensitivity and inflammation
Whether you’re looking for a snapshot of your current health or a closer look at future risk, we offer structured packages to suit different stages of life and levels of concern.
How important are blood tests for heart health?
Blood tests provide lots of information about risk long before symptoms appear. “They’re informative, simple, cost effective and well validated,” says Dr Assomull.
Routine screening with blood tests can detect issues such as high cholesterol; liver changes linked to diet; raised blood sugar; and pre-diabetes and diabetes. These issues are often silent; you don’t feel your cholesterol rising or your liver struggling, but your blood test will show it.
Why test results aren’t the be-all and end-all
With early action following a blood test or other investigation, most abnormalities can return to a healthy level.
Dr Assomull has seen dramatic turnarounds in a matter of months when patients:
- Begin exercising regularly
- Reduce consumption of ultra-processed food
- Monitor weight or waist circumference
- Work with nutritionists or personal trainers
- Commit to consistent routines
It’s important that you feel encouraged rather than overwhelmed. This means you do not need to overhaul your lifestyle overnight. Consistent small decisions – such as walking more often, cooking one more homemade meal each week, or going to bed earlier – lay the foundations for big gains in long-term health.
How healthy and unhealthy habits are formed
To make better choices for heart health and longevity, it may help to understand habit formation: how we pick up healthy or unhealthy habits.
Every habit follows the same pattern. Once you understand the structure, you can start to shape it rather than being carried along by it.
- Cue: This is the trigger that starts the habit. It can be a time of day, a place, a feeling, a person or even a smell.
- Craving: The cue creates a desire, not for the action itself, but for what you hope the action will provide. That might be comfort, energy, distraction or relief from stress.
- Response: This is the behaviour - the habit in action.
- Work with nutritionists or personal trainers
- Reward: The outcome that tells your brain whether the habit is worth repeating. If the reward feels positive, even briefly, your brain strengthens that loop. Over time, the loop becomes automatic or instinctual.
When you see how a habit is built, you can change any part of the loop:
- Remove or change the cue
- Find a better way to meet the craving
- Swap the response for a healthier alternative
- Make the reward something longer-lasting
To help people make changes that actually stick, Dr Assomull points to a simple behavioural model based on four principles:
| Building healthy habits | Breaking unhealthy habits |
|---|---|
| Make it obvious Put the behaviour directly in your line of sight. Lay exercise clothes out the night before your workout; keep fruit in a bowl on your kitchen counter; schedule an evening walk into your calendar. |
Make it invisible Remove the cue wherever possible. If snacks derail you, avoid keeping them in the house; place digital devices in another room before bed to support sleep. |
| Make it attractive Choose healthy actions you genuinely enjoy. Pick a form of exercise you like; cook recipes that excite you; or pair a habit with something pleasant, such as listening to a favourite podcast while walking. |
Make it unattractive Remind yourself why the habit doesn’t serve you. A quick note on the fridge or your phone lock screen can reinforce your “why”. |
| Make it easy Reduce friction and don’t overcomplicate things. Choose shorter workouts if the thought of long periods of exercise feels too uncomfortable; and batch-cook healthier meals so that you don’t have to cook something new each time you eat. |
Make it hard Add obstacles. If late-night scrolling is a problem, charge your phone in another room; if buying takeaways is too easy, delete the app. |
| Make it satisfying Create a small reward or track progress visually. Tick off steps on a habit tracker; or note how you feel each day in a journal. |
Make it unrewarding Look for alternative ways to get the feeling you’re seeking. Swap the short-term hit of fast food for the longer payoff of a home-cooked meal, or a walk that clears your head. |
Key heart health factors for longevity:
With healthy lifestyle habits in mind, here are some priorities to consider when your aim is to improve heart health and longevity.
Manage Cardiovascular Risk Factors:
Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes significantly shorten lifespan.
Adopt a Heart-Healthy Diet:
Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean poultry, beans, nuts, and low-fat dairy, while limiting saturated fats, sodium, and sugar.
Stay Physically Active:
Aim for 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly (walking, running, swimming, even chores count).
Aim For Healthy, Consistent Sleep:
Practise good sleep hygiene by avoiding stimulants (including screens and substances such as caffeine) before bed, and going to sleep and waking up at consistent times.
Look After Your Mental Health:
Better mental wellbeing can support your other lifestyle habits; conversely, poor mental health can leave you unmotivated and overwhelmed to make positive lifestyle choices.
Control Inflammation:
Poor diet, stress, and inactivity increase inflammatory markers like CXCL9, damaging blood vessels; reducing these supports heart health.
Monitor Your "Heart Age":
Tools like the NHS heart age calculator help visualise risks and benefits of lifestyle changes.
Heart health and longevity: What to do next
Heart health starts with you: your sleep, movement, daily meals, and your habits. But you don’t have to navigate it alone. If you are interested in a baseline assessment, reassurance before starting a new sport, or support managing risk factors, One Heart Clinic offers consultant-led testing packages designed for every stage of adulthood.
If you’re curious about your heart health, and ready to take control of it, there’s no better time to start than today. Book an appointment using our simple online form, call us on 020 3983 8001, or find out more about our packages here.
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