Heart disease remains the UK’s biggest killer, but there is much to be optimistic about: deaths are plummeting as we get better at preventing, diagnosing and treating the problem. Heart attacks have fallen by 40 per cent since the introduction of the smoking ban in 2007, according to a major review published earlier this year.

Indeed, we’re learning more and more about how lifestyle can wreck - or protect - the health of the heart. Last week, American researchers reported that simply brushing your teeth thoroughly can dramatically reduce levels of inflammation in the body and help protect against heart attacks.

It’s never too early to start thinking about your heart and taking steps to care for it, says Johannes Hinrich von Borstel, prospective cardiologist and former paramedic, and author of a new book Heart: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Important Organ. After all, atherosclerosis - the build up of fatty deposits in the arteries that can lead to heart disease and stroke - starts at the age of 25.