Study Says Five Healthy Habits Cut Heart Risk in Half

Seniors who follow five simple healthy behaviors could cut their risk of heart failure in half, according to a large, multi-year study recently published in JACC: Heart Failure.

Adults who walked briskly, were moderately active in their leisure time, drank moderately, didn't smoke and avoided obesity had half the risk of heart failure as adults who did not optimize these modifiable risk factors, according to this study that followed nearly 4,500 adults for two decades. 

 

Heart failure, a condition where the heart fails to pump as much blood as the body needs, is reportedly increasing in frequency in the United States and a leading cause of hospitalization for people over age 65.

Liana C. Del Gobbo, Ph.D., from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, led this study’s team of researchers who followed 4,490 men and women age 65 and older who didn't initially have signs of heart failure for up to 21.5 years. 

Researchers tracked their diet, walking habits, leisure activity, exercise intensity, alcohol use, smoking status, weight, height, waist circumference and heart health through questionnaires and physical exams throughout the study period. During the study, 1,380 heart failure cases occurred.

Researchers found that adults who walked at a pace of at least 2 miles per hour had a lower risk of developing heart failure. Reduced rates of heart failure were also associated with participating in leisure activities that burned more than 845 or more calories a week, not smoking, modest alcohol intake (not more than 1-2 drinks/day), and avoiding obesity. 

To learn more about the research, visit http://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2015/07/06/14/17/lifestyle-factors-associated-with-less-heart-failure-after-65?w_nav=TI.  

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At-Home Assistance Could Help Support Recovery

Researchers have found significant benefit from surgical treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis with and without degenerative spondylolisthesis – debilitating spinal conditions which, as you may know, can cause leg and back pain, numbness and weakness. Researchers also found no higher overall complication rate and no higher mortality for patients age 80 and older when compared with patients younger than age 80.

“This study demonstrates that surgery for the treatment of lumbar stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis provides significant benefit compared to non-operative treatment in those patients over the age of 80,” said lead study author Jeffrey A. Rihn, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon at the Rothman Institute and associate professor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa.

“Patients in this age group had significant improvement in their function after surgery and complication rates comparable to the younger demographic. Based on the results of this study, surgery should be considered a viable treatment option for these lumbar conditions in patients older than age 80.”

To learn more about the report, visit http://jbjs.org/content/97/3/177.