A cardiologist has revealed a simple test you can carry out at home to check how young your heart is.

Aurelio Rojas, from Malaga, regularly posts advice and tips for heart health on his TikTok page, which has amassed 222,000 followers.

In a recent clip, he explained how the key to living longer ‘and better’ starts with your legs.

Rojas said if you want to know if your heart is older or younger than your actual age, you can perform ‘the chair test’.

The test simply involves repeatedly sitting down and standing back up without using your hands or arms.

He said that if you manage to do it 15 times within the 30 seconds, you have a heart that is younger than your current age.

He said if you don’t reach 15 to not worry but to ‘start training your legs today’.

In a caption on the video, Rojas said: ‘There’s a fact most people don’t know: your muscle strength predicts your life expectancy better than many blood tests.

‘Studies show that reduced grip strength increases the risk of death from any cause by up to 16% (BMJ 2018) and that leg strength is one of the best indicators of cardiovascular health and longevity (J Gerontol A 2019).

‘And that’s not all: having more muscle mass reduces the risk of chronic diseases, improves insulin sensitivity, and decreases systemic inflammation (Lancet Healthy Longev 2022; J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 2021).’

He added: ‘Why legs? Because they are the body’s “metabolic engine”: They better regulate glucose, they increase functional reserve, they maintain your balance and prevent falls.’

He advised people to do ‘real strength training’ of their legs.

He explained: ‘With just 2-3 weekly sessions focused on legs (squats, lunges, heel raises), you can improve your functional capacity by up to 30% in 12 weeks, and that – literally – changes your future.’

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