Heart surgeon Dr Jeremy London has shared a simple at-home test on TikTok to evaluate heart disease risk using only a tape measure. The test, called the waist-to-height ratio, requires measuring waist circumference at belly button level after exhaling completely, then dividing by height.
Waist-to-Height Ratio Rule
Dr London explains: "You want the circumference of your waist to be less than half your height." Abdominal or visceral fat is metabolically active and a recognised risk factor for cardiovascular and other chronic conditions.
Evidence from Large Study
He noted a study that followed over half a million patients for 12 years, finding that fat accumulation in the visceral area was associated with increased heart disease risk.
How to Perform the Test
Steps: Measure waist at belly button level, exhale completely without holding stomach in, measure height, then divide waist by height. If the result is greater than 0.5, Dr London advises consulting a doctor for further evaluation. "Now this doesn't tell the whole story, obviously, but it's a great place to start. And if you don't measure it, you can't fix it," he said.
Additional Heart Disease Prevention Tips
Cardiologist David Min, MD, recommends eating apples, avocados, blueberries, and oranges to reduce heart disease risk. He told Eating Well: "A number of studies have shown that eating more fruit can lower your risk of a heart attack, stroke or death from cholesterol disease."
Other prevention measures include maintaining a healthy balanced diet low in saturated fats and high in fibre, being physically active, keeping a healthy weight, not smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, and controlling blood pressure and diabetes.
