Active seniors can lower heart attack risk by doing more, not less

American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report

2014-05-05

(Press-News.org) Maintaining or boosting your physical activity after age 65 can improve your heart's electrical well-being and lower your risk of heart attack, according to a study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. In heart monitor recordings taken over five years, researchers found that people who walked more and faster and had more physically active leisure time had fewer irregular heart rhythms and greater heart rate variability than those who were less active. Heart rate variability is differences in the time between one heartbeat and the next during everyday life. "These small differences are influenced by the health of the heart and the nervous system that regulates the heart," said Luisa Soares-Miranda, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the Faculty of Sport at the University of Porto in Portugal. "Early abnormalities in this system are picked up by changes in heart rate variability, and these changes predict the risk of future heart attacks and death." The researchers evaluated 24-hour heart monitor recordings of 985 adults (average age 71 at baseline) participating in the community-based Cardiovascular Health Study, a large study of heart disease risk factors in people 65 and older. During the study, they found: The more physical activity people engaged in, the better their heart rate variability. Participants who increased their walking distance or pace during the five years had better heart rate variability than those who reduced how much or how fast they walked. "Any physical activity is better than none, but maintaining or increasing your activity has added heart benefits as you age," Soares-Miranda said. "Our results also suggest that these certain beneficial changes that occur may be reduced when physical activity is reduced." The researchers calculated that the difference between the highest and lowest levels of physical activity would translate into an estimated 11 percent lower risk of heart attack or sudden cardiac death. "So if you feel comfortable with your usual physical activity, do not slow down as you get older — try to walk an extra block or walk at a faster pace," Soares-Miranda said. "If you're not physically active, it is never too late to start." INFORMATION: Co-authors are Jacob Sattelmair, Ph.D.; Paulo Chaves, M.D., Ph.D.; Glen Duncan, Ph.D.; David S. Siscovick, M.D., M.P.H.; Phyllis K. Stein, Ph.D.; and Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H. Author disclosures are on the manuscript. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and National Institute on Aging funded the research. For the latest heart and stroke news, follow us on Twitter: @HeartNews.
For updates and new science from Circulation, follow @CircAHA. Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association's policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at http://www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Henry Ford Hospital study links social, community factors with hospital readmissions

2014-05-05

DETROIT – Factors like the level of poverty in a neighborhood, living alone, and age affect a patient's chances of being readmitted to a hospital after discharge, even after possible variations in quality of care in the hospital have been taken into account. Those are the conclusions of a new study by Henry Ford Health System researchers who found links between readmission rates and social factors such as patients' marital status and neighborhood poverty, suggesting that readmissions are not just an issue of hospital quality. The study appears in the May issue of Health ...

Lower Hispanic participation in Medicare drug benefit may point to barriers

2014-05-05

Hispanic seniors are 35 percent less likely to have prescription drug coverage despite the existence of the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan – also known as Part D – and the availability of assistance to help pay insurance premiums. That is the finding of a study released today in the journal Health Affairs. "These results indicate that disparities in prescription drug coverage exist between Hispanic and white Medicare beneficiaries, despite the existence of a potentially universal entitlement program," said Brian McGarry, a graduate student in the Department of Public ...

Study looks at predicting fracture risk after women stop bisphosphonate therapy

2014-05-05

Age and testing of hip bone mineral density (BDM) when postmenopausal women discontinue bisphosphonate therapy can help predict the likelihood of fractures over the next five years. Bisphosphonates can reduce the risk of hip and spine fractures. But recent concerns about safety issues, including osteonecrosis of the jaw, atypical femoral fractures and esophageal cancer, have increased interest in interrupting or stopping bisphosphonate therapy after several years of treatment. This study tested methods for predicting fracture risk by measuring BMD using hip and spine ...

Choosing a screening method for cervical cancer: Pap alone or with HPV test

2014-05-05

Karen Smith-McCune, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, writes: "The updated guidelines leave physicians and other clinicians with a question: is cotesting with Pap-plus-HPV testing truly preferred over Pap testing alone (the American Cancer Society/the American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology/the American Society of Clinical Pathology recommendation), or are the options equivalent (the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation)?" "Once a straightforward process, screening for cervical cancer is now increasingly complex. ...

Eliminating copayments improves adherence, reduces adverse events in nonwhite patients

2014-05-05

Research demonstrates that lowering copayments for cardiovascular medications results in better adherence and outcomes among all patients, but until now, little was known about whether lowering copayments could improve known disparities in cardiovascular care. New research finds that lowering copayments for medications following a heart attack could have a significant impact on reducing the racial and ethnic disparities that exist in cardiovascular disease. These findings are published in the May issue of Health Affairs. "African Americans and Hispanics with cardiovascular ...

Women with unintended pregnancies take the shortest maternity leaves

2014-05-05

College Park, Md. -- Mothers in the United States who have unintended pregnancies return to work sooner after childbirth than mothers whose pregnancy was intended, according to a study led by Dr. Rada K. Dagher, assistant professor of health services administration in the University of Maryland School of Public Health. This is the first study to examine pregnancy intention and return to work after childbirth. "We know that it's better for women to take time off after childbirth to take care of their physical and mental health," says Dr. Dagher, whose previous research ...

Evolution in species may reverse predator-prey population cycles

2014-05-05

Populations of predators and their prey usually follow predictable cycles. When the number of prey increases – perhaps as their food supply becomes more abundant – predator populations also grow. When the predator population becomes too large, however, the prey population often plummets, leaving too little food for the predators, whose population also then crashes. This canonical view of predator-prey relationships was first identified by mathematical biologists Alfred Lotka and Vito Volterra in the 1920s and 1930s. But all bets are off if both the predator and prey ...

Monitoring RNA levels in blood yields dynamic picture of fetal development, disease

2014-05-05

STANFORD, Calif. — Recent research has shown that tiny fragments of DNA circulating in a person's blood can allow scientists to monitor cancer growth and even get a sneak peek into a developing fetus' gene sequences. But isolating and sequencing these bits of genetic material renders little insight into how that DNA is used to generate the dizzying array of cells, tissues and biological processes that define our bodies and our lives. Now researchers at Stanford University have moved beyond relying on the static information delivered by DNA sequences in the blood. Instead, ...

UEA research identifies molecules that guide embryonic heart-forming cells

2014-05-05

Scientists at the University of East Anglia have made an important step in understanding how hearts are formed in developing embryos. The heart is the first functioning organ to develop in humans, and correct formation is crucial for embryo survival and growth. New research published today reveals how cells that form the heart, known as 'cardiac progenitors', are guided to move into the right place for the heart to begin to form. It is hoped that the findings will help researchers better understand how congenital heart defects happen during the early stages of pregnancy. ...

Immune cells outsmart bacterial infection by dying, Penn Vet study shows

2014-05-05

A new study led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has painted a clearer picture of the delicate arms race between the human immune system and a pathogen that seeks to infect and kill human cells. The research explores the strategies by which the bacterial pathogen Yersinia, responsible for causing plague and gastrointestinal infections, tries to outsmart immune cell responses and looks at the tactics used by the immune system to fight back. The senior author of the paper, which appears online this week in Proceedings of the ...

University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center becomes first in the United States to implement Akesis Inc. innovative Galaxy RTI device for patient treatment

Active seniors can lower heart attack risk by doing more, not less

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: