It was my birthday at the start of the month.
It was a quiet day so I did what all 53-year-olds do whose family has a history of heart problems. I visited my GP.
He began by asking me to stand on a weighing scale. It groaned but survived the ordeal.
He then took my blood pressure (slightly high) and recommended that I return the following week for a full blood test.
What, I asked, might have caused my blood pressure to go up since it was last measured six years ago?
"Anno domini," he replied casually. Or, to put it another way, "advancing old age".
He then asked, "Do you smoke?"
"No," I said.
He persisted. "Have you ever smoked?"
"No."
Abandoning this tack he then rattled through a list of other things that can cause high blood pressure and lead to heart disease: alcohol, obesity, lack of exercise and salt.
Surprise, surprise, I ticked every single box!
I don't intend to die any time soon but, when the time comes, you'll be the first to know.