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 “We had hoped to see a trend for reduced heart disease events, given
the strong positive finding for reduced mobility disability,
previously published in JAMA,” said lead author Dr. Anne B. Newman,
director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Aging and
Population Health.
But in this study there was no difference between doing the physical
activity and just receiving health education, Newman told Reuters
Health by email.
The researchers randomly assigned 1,600 people aged 70 to 89 years
who were able to walk at least 400 meters to either a physical
activity program or a “successful aging” educational program. Those
in the physical activity group aimed for 150 minutes of walking each
week plus strength, flexibility and balance training, with two
health center visits per week.
Those in the successful aging group attended weekly workshops for
the first 26 weeks and monthly sessions thereafter, but there was no
exercise component.
Participants self-reported any history of heart attack, heart
failure or stroke, and had health assessment clinic visits every six
months for an average of about two and a half years.
During that time, 121 of the 818 physical activity participants
suffered a cardiovascular event like heart attack or stroke, as did
113 of the 817 successful aging participants, according to the
results in JAMA Cardiology.
“The lack of a difference could mean that physical activity needs to
start earlier in life to prevent cardiovascular disease or it could
mean that more exercise is needed than what we provided in this
study,” Newman said. “It is important to recognize that these were
frail older adults at high risk for disability.”
This level of activity can improve mobility, as found in a previous
study, she noted.
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“The major benefit of a walking program for people over 70 is in
reducing disability and improving mobility,” she said.
Muscles can respond to exercise in people well past 90 years of age,
so it is never too late to start improving function, she said.
“The benefits probably do not diminish, but the ability to exercise
starts to decline in most people in their 40's,” as the rate of
injury increases, Newman said. “Our program was safe and effective
for preventing mobility disability, and was well tolerated by frail
older adults over age 70 for an average of two and a half years.”
“Studies of cardiac rehab do show that recurrent heart attacks are
prevented with exercise,” she said.
Not smoking and following a healthy diet can also reduce
cardiovascular risk, she said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/29knVDF JAMA Cardiology, online June 29, 2016.
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