New research suggests that seniors who practice healthy habits cut their risk of heart failure in half, Reuters reported.
A team of researchers led by Liana Del Gobbo, a research fellow at Tufts University, found that older people who don't smoke, drink moderately and are fairly active during their free time are less likely to suffer from heart failure.
"A key finding is that physical activity among older adults does not have to be strenuous to reduce heart failure risk," Del Gobbo told Reuters Health. "We saw benefits for adults who walked at moderate or brisk pace (more than 2 or 3 miles per hour) and burned calories through leisure activity, like house or yard work, walking, engaging in outdoor activities, or other forms of physical activity, equivalent to about 30 minutes per day of moderate-intensity activity."
For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from 4,490 men and women age 65 and older who had no initial signs of heart failure. They followed this group for up to 21 years, collecting data on their diet, walking pace and distance, leisure activity, alcohol use, and weight and waist circumference. During the study, there were 1,380 cases of heart failure.
They found that those who walked briskly were 26 percent less likely to suffer from heart failure, "and those who met four or more criteria for good health were 45 percent less likely to suffer from heart failure," HealthDay reported.
"Older adults can make simple changes to reduce their heart failure risk, such as not smoking, engaging in moderate physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight," Del Gobbo told HealthDay.
Heart failure is a condition that is very common among seniors.
"A person aged 55 has a one-in-three chance of developing heart failure in his lifetime," Del Gobbo said. "Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump sufficiently to maintain blood flow to meet the body's needs."
The findings are detailed in the JACC journal Heart Failure.
