Advertisement

Are You Going To Die Young? Here Are 5 Warning Signs

It’s fairly grim to contemplate your own mortality - but you could already be displaying signs which show you might die young.

Not all of these are as obvious as a hacking cough either.

Here are a few signs that you are more likely to die early.

If you fall into these categories, don’t panic: most of these are indicators based on your level of overall fitness.

If you’re worried, ensure you follow a healthy exercise regime, and eat well. If you need advice, speak to a medical professional.

Do you have a weak handshake?

People who have weak handshakes don’t just make bad first impressions - they’re at risk of dying young.

A large study found that weak grip strength is associated with higher risk of heart attack and stroke - due, possibly, to it being an indicator of overall fitness.

The statistics stand up even when adjusted for other factors such as smoking - with each 5kg reduction in grip strength being linked to a 9% increase in risk of stroke, and a 7% increase in risk of heart attack.

The researchers, from McMaster University in Canada analysed data on 139,691 adults aged 35-70, using a handgrip dynamometer to measure grip strength.

Is your resting heart rate over 80?

If you wear a fitness wristband such as a Fitbit or Jawbone, you’ll probably know your resting heart rate.

But it’s bad news for you if it’s over 80.

People who have a ‘resting heart rate’ of 80 beats per minute are 45% more likely to die in the next 20 years compared to those with resting heart rate of 45bpm, according to Medical College of Qingdao University.

Researchers at the Medical College of Qingdao University used data from 46 previous studies involving 1.2 million people.

Dr Dongfeng Zhang said, ‘There is no doubt that elevated resting heart rate serves as a marker of poor health status.

‘Our results highlight that people should pay more attention to their resting heart rate for their health, and also indicate the potential importance of physical activity to lower resting heart rate.

Do you have trouble maintaining an erection?

For men, problems with erectile dysfunction can be an early warning sign of heart disease.

Doctors are increasingly warning that erectile dysfunction can often be an early warning sign of heart disease.

Heart disease occurs due to arteries becoming clogged - and the effect is also seen in blood vessels carrying blood to the penis.

Cardiologist Graham Jackson, of the Sexual Advice Association, said, ‘A man in his 40s with erectile dysfunction has a 50-fold greater risk of having a heart attack over the next ten years.

Can you do physical exercise without getting out of breath?

A test based on how people perform on a treadmill can predict how likely they are to die within a decade, with a high degree of accuracy.

A team of researchers analysed results of 58,000 fitness tests in Detroit, Michigan - then tracked how many of the testers died within the next decade.

John Hopkins University found that gauging people’s heart rate and fitness on a treadmill can work out their risk of death - more accurately than looking at risk factors such as a family history of premature death.

For example, a 45-year-old woman with a very low fitness score has a 38% risk of dying over the next decade, whereas a 45-year-old woman with a top fitness score has a 2% risk.

Do you have a lot of friends - or only a few?

Lonely people are more likely to die early - and the reason is that their immune systems are weaker.

People who don’t interact with others frequently are 14% more likely to suffer early death.

They appear to have much lower levels of white blood cells in their bodies, according to University of Chicago scientists.

Research on both humans and monkeys showed a link between levels of stress hormones and a drop in levels of white blood cells.