Midlife fitness is linked to lower stroke risks later in life

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-06/aha-mfi060616.php

Public Release: 9-Jun-2016
Midlife fitness is linked to lower stroke risks later in life
American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report
American Heart Association

The more fit you are in your midlife, the less likely you are to have a stroke after age 65, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.

"We all hear that exercise is good for you, but many people still don't do it. Our hope is that this objective data on preventing a fatal disease such as stroke, will help motivate people to get moving and get fit," said Ambarish Pandey, M.D., the first author of the study and a cardiology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

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The study found that those with the highest level of fitness had a 37 percent lower risk of stroke after age 65, compared to their counterparts with the lowest level of fitness. This inverse relationship between fitness and stroke risks existed even after researchers considered stroke risk factors: high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and atrial fibrillation.

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Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious long-term disability. The information on the effects of fitness on stroke risk, independent of other factors, is limited, researchers noted.

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