Aldosterone overload: An underappreciated contributor to high blood pressure
Can you retrain your brain to stop excessive drinking?
Beyond statins: New ways to lower LDL cholesterol
What is a cardioversion procedure?
For now, electric cars appear safe for people with implanted heart devices
Can you stop blood thinners after an ablation for atrial fibrillation?
Reversing prediabetes may slash heart disease risk by half
Waking up to urinate at night affects blood pressure
Finding and fixing a stiff, narrowed aortic valve
VO2 max: What it is and how you can improve it
Exercise & Fitness Archive
Articles
12 minutes of exercise might lower risks for heart disease and diabetes
News briefs
Ever wonder how much exercise time it takes to start reducing your risk for heart disease and diabetes? It could be as little as 12 minutes, according to a Harvard study published Nov. 17, 2020, in Circulation. Scientists analyzed blood from more than 400 middle-aged men and women before and just after they'd pedaled for 12 minutes on cycling machines, reaching a vigorous rate. In particular, scientists measured levels of almost 600 natural body chemicals (metabolites). Exercise produced significant changes in most metabolites. For example, the level of one metabolite linked to heart disease and diabetes fell by 29%. Another metabolite tied to diabetes risk and liver disease fell by 18%. That suggests, but doesn't prove, that 12 minutes of daily exercise (that includes vigorous activity) might reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. What if you're more of a moderate-intensity exerciser? "We don't know yet if moderate-intensity exercise would have a similar effect on metabolites. But study participants started off with very light exercise, and each minute the intensity increased," says Dr. Gregory Lewis, the study's senior author and a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
Image: © artvea/Getty Images
Can taking aspirin regularly help prevent breast cancer?
Experts say there's little evidence that low-dose aspirin therapy brings benefits, and there are some risks.
In recent years, there's been a lot of talk about the potential benefits, and risks, of a regular regimen of low-dose aspirin. While much of the discussion has centered on whether taking low-dose aspirin can head off cardiovascular disease, some of the focus has also been on breast cancer. Can regular doses of this over-the-counter pain reliever reduce your risk of this common cancer?
For a while there were hints that the evidence was leaning that way. Back in 2017, this area of research, while still inconclusive, was somewhat promising. For example, a 2017 study published in Breast Cancer Research found that among some 57,000 women, those who reported taking low-dose aspirin (81 mg) at least three times a week had a 16% lower risk of breast cancer over all and a 20% lower risk of a specific type of hormonally driven breast cancer.
Put a song in your heart
Listening to music may offer a range of benefits for cardiovascular health.
Music's capacity to evoke emotion is one reason people love listening to it so much. Whether you want to feel energized and uplifted or calm and relaxed, you can probably conjure a few examples of melodies that put you in your desired frame of mind. As it turns out, those mood-related benefits may extend to your heart.
"The beating of your heart and your fight-or-flight system are regulated by your brain. Once you understand that, it makes sense that listening to music that evokes a certain mood might affect the heart's function," says Dr. Andrew Budson, a lecturer in neurology at Harvard Medical School and chief of cognitive and behavioral neurology at the VA Boston Healthcare System.
Women sit more after retirement
Research we're watching
If you're looking forward to having some extra downtime after retirement, just make sure it doesn't bring more sitting-down time. A study published online Nov. 17, 2020, by the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that on average, women saw a sharp increase in sedentary time — more than an additional 20 minutes each day — after they retired compared with when they were working. This is an unhealthy pattern that can lead to a higher risk for cardiovascular disease.
Researchers identified this trend by looking at data on nearly 700 people (nearly 85% of them women) from a Finnish study. Most of the participants worked in administrative roles or held professional positions before retiring at an average age of 63. To provide objective measurements of activity, the participants wore activity monitors continuously for a full week during their one or two years both before and after retirement. The spike in sedentary time occurred after retirement, and remained at the reduced level for the next two years or more following retirement. Men, by contrast, saw a gradual decline in their activity level over time, but no sudden spike after they left their jobs. So, if you're retiring in the near future, it may be worth keeping an eye on your activity level to make sure you don't slow down after you leave your job.
Music to your health
The soothing and motivational sounds of music have far-reaching health benefits.
A favorite musical tune can stir up positive memories, boost your mood, and create a soothing, relaxing setting. But used in specific ways, music also is a valuable tool for supporting your health.
"Whether you need to relax, increase your energy, improve your thinking, or just get motivated for the day, music can provide extra support when you need it the most," says Marisabelle Diaz-Falcon, a music therapist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
Cohabitating couples share heart-related habits, risks
Research we're watching
Couples who live together tend to have similar health habits. But only about one in five couples falls into the "ideal" category for heart-healthy habits and risk factors, suggests a study in the Oct. 26, 2020, issue of JAMA Network Open.
Researchers looked at health data on 5,365 couples from diverse racial and economic backgrounds throughout the United States. Most were in their 40s and 50s. Based on risk factors from the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 (smoking status, body mass index, exercise, diet, total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar), researchers categorized individuals and couples as poor, intermediate, or ideal for each factor and over all.
A plan for flexibility
Flexibility helps you stay active and injury-free — and you don't need to do much to see and feel the benefits.
Flexibility is like the famous joke about the weather often attributed to Mark Twain: "Everyone talks about it, but no one ever does anything about it."
People understand the importance of good flexibility as they age. Flexibility keeps them active and helps them safely perform everyday movements.
The benefits of brief bursts of exercise
Research we're watching
Doing vigorous exercise for just 12 minutes triggers changes in blood levels of substances linked to cardiovascular health, new research finds.
The study used data from 411 middle-aged adults from the Framingham Heart Study. Researchers measured levels of 588 substances involved in metabolism (metabolites) in the volunteers' blood before and immediately after 12 minutes of vigorous exercise on an exercise bike.
Face masks don’t affect exercise breathing
In the journals
Many people shun wearing face masks when exercising outside or in enclosed gyms because they feel uncomfortable. But another concern is that masks make breathing more difficult, and that rebreathing the higher amounts of carbon dioxide a person exhales when exercising could lead to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the blood.
However, a study published online Nov. 3, 2020, by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health did not find evidence to support either of these worries. Researchers asked healthy, active people to perform cycling exercises until exhaustion on three occasions. For each workout, the exercisers wore either a surgical mask, a cloth mask, or no mask. The researchers found no significant changes in oxygen intake or carbon dioxide blood levels whether the exercisers did or did not wear a face mask. Masks also did not increase heart rates or hasten fatigue.
Bad habits come in pairs
Your partner's flawed health behaviors may be harming your heart.
It's been said that the longer couples stay together the more they look alike. As it turns out, the resemblance may be more than skin-deep. A study published online Oct. 26, 2020, by JAMA Network Open found that couples' health behavior and heart disease risk factors also look alike — for better or worse.
"We know, even from personal experience, that couples share similar behaviors that can affect health, but it was surprising to find the high levels of shared unhealthy behaviors within couples," says the study's lead author, Dov Shiffman, a senior scientific fellow at the medical testing company Quest Diagnostics.
Aldosterone overload: An underappreciated contributor to high blood pressure
Can you retrain your brain to stop excessive drinking?
Beyond statins: New ways to lower LDL cholesterol
What is a cardioversion procedure?
For now, electric cars appear safe for people with implanted heart devices
Can you stop blood thinners after an ablation for atrial fibrillation?
Reversing prediabetes may slash heart disease risk by half
Waking up to urinate at night affects blood pressure
Finding and fixing a stiff, narrowed aortic valve
VO2 max: What it is and how you can improve it
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