Walking Speed Indicative of Cardiovascular Death Risk in the Elderly
Older people who walk slowly are three times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who walk faster, according to research published on bmj.com. The authors say the findings highlight the importance of fitness in preserving life and function during old age.
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Why Women Live Longer
Across the globe, women still live 5 to 10 years longer than men. Founder of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University explains why 85% of people over 100 years old are women. One large reason is the large advantage women have over men in terms of cardiovascular disease. Women develop symptoms like heart attacks and strokes usually in their 70s and 80s, compared to men who develop them in their 50s and 60s. Doctors long believed the difference was due to estrogen, but studies show that this may not be the case.
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Four Predictors of Long Life
Evidence is mounting that some rather surprising attributes and habits of a person's life can pretty well foretell whether that man or woman will live to a ripe old age. Here are four of them: -- Having strong legs. Leg strength translates into good flexibility, balance and endurance, which are crucial for avoiding the falls and other accidents that shorten so many seniors' lives. It's good to do squats, lunges and stair climbing to kill two birds with one stone: losing weight and gaining strength.
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Decreased Heart Function Linked to Fat Around Organs
Fat collections in different body locations, such as around the heart and the aorta and within the liver, are associated with certain decreased heart functions, according to research from Boston University School of Medicine. Appearing in the journal Obesity, the study also found that measuring a person's body mass index does not reliably predict the amount of undesired fat in and around these vital organs.
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High-Red-Meat Diet Raises Mortality Risk
Americans who consume large amounts of red and processed meats face a greater likelihood of death by cancer or heart disease, a recent study found.
The research was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, and is the largest study of its kind, with over a half-million subjects.
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High Fructose Corn Syrup Is An Ingredient for Hypertension
Individuals who consume a diet high in corn syrup increase their risk of developing high blood pressure, according to findings published in a paper presented at the American Society of Nephrology's Annual Meeting. The findings suggest that cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup may help prevent the onset of hypertension.
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Salt - The Next Food Villain
Saturated fat, sugar, tobacco... and now salt. The medical field has now put sodium chloride, our most popular condiment, in its sights.
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Heart Failure Alarmingly High Among Under-50 African Ameicans
Heart disease in America, once thought to be the exclusive province of the elderly, is occurring more and more among younger age groups - and overwhelmingly among African Americans, according to a recent study that was the first large-scale effort to reveal the extent of the race gap in heart disease.
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Limiting Scar Tissue Following a Heart Attack
Scientists appear to have taken a first step toward creating a gene therapy to prevent the heart-hardening fibrous scar tissue that replaces the dead muscle left by a heart attack.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, suggest there is a protein that plays a crucial role in the formation of post-heart-attack heart scars, and that the production of this protein is regulated by a single gene.
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Harmful Fat Buildup Linked to Social Stress
Social stress is linked to deposits of harmful fats in the abdomen, which can accelerate the accumulation of plaque in blood vessels, a major risk factor for heart disease, according to research presented by a new US study.
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