Jan 23rd 2024
Increased Physical Activity in Seniors Boosts Heart Health
With statistics showing their risk of heart disease increases with age, seniors are constantly reminded to go easy on their heart. So it may seem counter-intuitive, even dangerous, to get more active in retirement.But can adding in a bit of daily activity or exercise lower that risk and improve overall heart health in aging seniors? That’s what a team of researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the University of Porto in Portugal recently set out to determine.As part of a larger community-based study on heart disease risk factors called the Cardiovascular Health Study, 985 adults aged 65 and older wore heart monitors 24 hours a day for 5 years. In the new study, researchers analyzed recordings of their heart rate variability, those time differences between one heartbeat and the next during normal daily activity.According to researcher and lead author of the study Dr. Luisa Soares-Miranda, when monitoring changes in heart rate variability, scientists can predict…
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