Get insights into your health and help out with science at the same time? It’s possible with the new ‘My Heart Counts’ app, created by researchers from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the National eHealth Living Lab (NeLL). All residents of the Netherlands are invited to participate in this study. The LUMC reports it.
“It’s like we’re putting questionnaires on all kitchen tables in the Netherlands and attaching a motion sensor to random passers-by,” says general practitioner Tobias Bonten. “In this way we can intelligently research the relationship between exercise, lifestyle and cardiovascular disease. “We are curious, among other things, if it matters for the risk of cardiovascular disease what time of day you train; Is it helpful to get your body started in the morning with a brisk walk, or doesn’t it matter? ”adds medical researcher Annemiek Silven of the Department of Public Health and Primary Care.
Calculate your heart age
Anyone over 18 years of age can participate in the study. All you have to do is download the “My Heart Counts” app on your phone. The app first explains in detail how the search works and what happens to all the data. The app then keeps track of how active the participants are, but also how much they sleep. For one week, participants fill out short questionnaires about their lifestyle. Think about questions about what sports participants think, if they work at set times, and what their diet looks like. Next, their “heart age” is calculated. This test was made by the Dutch Heart Foundation and translates risk factors into an estimate of a person’s heart age. The researchers want to use the data to find out how exercise and lifestyle affect cardiovascular disease in the general population. The researchers expect the first results in early 2023.
Edited by: National Care Guide
