How to Prevent Heart Disease: Top tests and habits to start in your 40s

Heart disease doesn’t start with a heart attack. It starts decades earlier — quietly, in your 30s and 40s — while most of us assume we’re too young to worry about it. In this episode, I’m talking with Dr. Jason Kaplan, a preventive cardiologist based in Sydney who works across St. Vincent’s Clinic, North Shore Health Hub, and Royal North Shore Hospital. Jason has spent his career in the part of cardiology most doctors don’t focus on: getting to people before the event, not after. And what he’s found is that the decisions you’re making right now, today, are either building or breaking your heart health for your 60s and beyond. We cover what actually drives heart disease (and how much of it is lifestyle versus genetics), the specific blood tests and imaging you should be asking your GP for, and the one dietary shift that has the strongest evidence behind it for cardiovascular protection.  Don’t just listen to this episode. Get the tests. Share it with people you love. Practice the habits he recommends.  **What You’ll Learn** - Why heart disease is not just an “older person’s problem” — and why the risk factors are already present in your 30s and 40s - The difference between a cholesterol panel, a coronary artery calcium score, and a cardiac CT — and which one to ask for first, depending on your age and risk - Why your genetics are not your destiny: how positive lifestyle changes can reduce even high genetic cardiovascular risk by around 50% - The dietary pattern with the strongest evidence for heart protection — and the one simple substitution Dr. Kaplan recommends starting with - What cardiorespiratory fitness actually predicts about your longevity — and the weekly exercise targets that make a measurable difference