- Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago based their findings on a study of 5,000 people
- They tracked people’s lifestyles and measured the health of their arteries
- They found a quarter of people added one healthy habit as they got older
- The effects of bad habits adopted in early adulthood, such as a poor diet and smoking, can be controlled and reversed if action is taken by 50, they said
- But the scientists warned that healthy people who pick up extra bad habits as they age have a detrimental impact on their arteries
32
View
comments
Adults can reverse the negative effects of heart disease by dropping unhealthy habits in their 30s and 40s, scientists claim.
A new study suggests that eating a healthier diet and doing more exercise can control and potentially even reverse the natural progression of coronary artery disease.
But the researchers warned that picking up extra bad habits as you get older will have a detrimental impact on your arteries.
A new study suggests that if people make healthy changes to their lifestyle in their 30s and 40s, they can control and potentially even reverse the natural progression of coronary artery disease (illustrated)
‘It’s not
too late,’ said Bonnie Spring, lead investigator of the study and a
professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine in Chicago.
‘You’re
not doomed if you’ve hit young adulthood and acquired some bad habits.
You can still make a change and it will have a benefit for your heart.’
However,
according to the study, which was published in the journal Circulation,
if people drop healthy habits or pick up more bad habits as they age,
there is measurable, detrimental impact on their coronary arteries.
CORONARY HEART DISEASE
Coronary heart disease kills around 82,000 people in the UK each year.
About one in five men and one in eight women die from the disease.
There are an estimated 2.7million people living with the condition.
As well as angina – chest pain – the main symptoms of heart disease are heart attacks and heart failure.
Coronary heart disease describes what happens when the heart’s blood supply is blocked by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries.
Over time, the walls of the arteries become ‘furred up,’ in a process called atherosclerosis.
This can be caused by smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
‘If you don’t keep up a healthy lifestyle, you’ll see the evidence in terms of your risk of heart disease,’ Professor Spring said.
Scientists based their research on 5,000 participants of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which examined people’s lifestyle behaviours as well as coronary artery calcification and thickening between the ages of 18 and 30 – and 20 years later.
The healthy
lifestyle factors assessed were: not being overweight or obese, being a
non-smoker, being physically active and eating healthily without
drinking much alcohol.
At
the beginning of the study when the participants were young adults,
less than 10 per cent of people reported all five healthy lifestyle
behaviours.
At the 20-year mark, around one quarter of the participants
had added at least one healthy lifestyle behaviour.Â
Increasing healthy lifestyle factors were
linked with reduced odds of detectable coronary artery calcification
and lower intima-media thickness, which are two major markers of
cardiovascular disease that can predict future cardiovascular events.
‘This finding is important because it helps to debunk two myths held by some health care professionals,’ said Professor Spring.
‘The
first is that it’s nearly impossible to change patients’ behaviours.
Yet, we found that 25 per cent of adults made healthy lifestyle changes
on their own.
Professor Bonnie Spring said: ‘You’re not doomed if you’ve hit young adulthood and acquired some bad habits. You can still make a change and it will have a benefit for your heart’
‘The second
myth is that the damage has already been done – adulthood is too late
for healthy lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of developing coronary
artery disease.
‘Clearly, that’s incorrect.
‘Adulthood is not too late for healthy behaviour changes to help the heart.’
While
some participants in the study became healthier in their lifestyle
choices, 40 per cent of the sample dropped healthy habits and acquired
more bad habits as they aged.
‘That loss of healthy habits had a measurable negative impact on their coronary arteries,’ Professor Spring said.
Increasing healthy lifestyle factors were linked with reduced odds of detectable coronary artery calcification and lower intima-media thickness, which are two major markers of cardiovascular disease that can predict future cardiovascular events. An illustration of a thickened and hardened artery is pictured
‘Each decrease in healthy lifestyle factors led to greater odds of detectable coronary artery calcification and higher intima-media thickness.
‘Adulthood isn’t a “safe period†when one can abandon healthy habits without doing damage to the heart.
‘A healthy lifestyle requires upkeep to be maintained.’
Professor Spring said the healthy changes people in the study made are attainable and sustainable.
She thinks that people can maintain a good lifestyle by not smoking, keeping a healthy body weight, doing 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week and eating a healthy diet that is high in fibre and low in salt, with lots of fruit and vegetables.
She said that women should limit themselves to one alcoholic drink a day and men, a maximum of two drinks.
or comment on this article
-
Dad and daughter perform heartfelt rendition of Let it Go
-
State trooper threatens to use taser on Bengals lineman
-
Kendall Jones films villagers chopping up elephant for meat
-
Instant karma for biker who tries to kick moving car
-
Fox anchor too enthusiastic about bikini colleague
-
Shocked dog’s hilarious reaction after getting gift of 100…
-
Guy expertly dances his pants ON using no hands
-
Man clinging to back of car on fast-moving interstate
-
Lemon ninja slices and dices his way through pile of fruit
-
AUDIO/VIDEO: ASU Professor thrown to the ground by police
-
Finnish horse whisperer communicates with colt
-
Meet Hayley and Mike Jones and their eight adopted children
-
Animal lover outrage as blonde Texas cheerleader smiles in…
-
Black student body president at nation’s most expensive prep…
-
How Kate’s parents are cashing in on kids’ bracelet craze -…
-
EXCLUSIVE – Suicide note of Julia Roberts’ sister revealed:…
-
What happened to the sea lions on Pier 39? Colony of mammals…
-
Israel sends barrage of airstrikes into Gaza following the…
-
‘They were the products of war’: Rape victim who was held…
-
The ISIS map of the world: Militants outline chilling…
-
‘I slept with 10,000 men’: Devout Christian reveals how she…
-
Has Sollecito INCRIMINATED Amanda Knox over the death of…
-
Aunt Pippa opens up about ‘dear’ Prince George who is…
-
‘This is not her first rodeo’: ‘Nightmare nanny’, 64, had…
Comments (32)
what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
Harold,
Bethyname, United Kingdom,
24 minutes ago
I must tell that to my beloved cousin. Oh, I can’t. She died of lung cancer at 40.
pluktv,
halifax,
47 minutes ago
That’s just not fair. I quit smoking and fast food when I was 30. If had known this back then I could have enjoyed another couple of decades of abuse!
tomqvaxy,
Athens,
57 minutes ago
Yeah, you’ll get cancer instead. That damage is irreversible.
John Evans,
Manchester, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
I’m 53. I’m going outside for a smoke.
Cocinero,
Baghdad, Iraq,
1 hour ago
I thought it was by 40?
Petite,
Texas, United States,
1 hour ago
I was laughing before I read the ‘story’! According to this year’s reports, I am doing everything I can to both stay alive AND possibly take 5-10 years off my life, depending on who you ask!
The English Man 1956,
Brighton, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
TOO LATE FOR ME THEN! MAY JUST AS WELL CARRY ON THEN.
tangerinedream,
Dry Heat, United States,
1 hour ago
Gotta quit smoking, drinking too much and eating the wrong things..otherwise we all pay for our sins in the end…
Tae,
Ashland, United States,
1 hour ago
I regret the day I ever picked up a cigarette, although I quit almost ten years ago at 50. My mind will never be 100% free of fear. Who really knows what I did to myself? Foolish of me.
david,
Florida, United States,
2 hours ago
the trick is not to die before you are 50.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Find out now