Time to run for your life
Scientists have discovered that running a mile could indicate whether a person may need respite care in old age.
The fitness test could be used to predict heart attack or stroke risks in middle aged people.
Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology revealed that heart disease risk in middle aged men could be measured based on their fitness levels, as well as traditional risk factors such as age, blood pressure, diabetes, total cholesterol and smoking habits.
According to the two studies conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, this indicated that a test assessing how fast a middle-aged person can run a mile could help to predict the risk of dying of a heart attack or stroke decades later.
Author of the study, Dr Jarett Berry, said prevention of such risks needed to be administered early.
“Heart disease tends to cluster at older ages, but if you want to prevent it, our research suggests that the prescription for prevention needs to occur earlier – when a person is in [their] 40s and 50s,” she said.
In other news, a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry has revealed that a gene associated with the heart’s development and the ageing process, could possibly pave the way to new treatments for cardiovascular conditions in older people.
