Your Heart Health - Get Started Now

Adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle makes a difference, even if the change does not come until middle age, say researchers in the American Journal of Medicine.

In fact, people who eat right and exercise more can substantially reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease and death even if they are in their 50s or 60s.

Consuming at least five fruits and vegetables daily, exercising at least 2.5 hours per week, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking can lessen your chances of heart trouble by 35 percent, and your risk of dying by 40 percent, compared to people with less healthy lifestyles.

Four Healthy Behaviors — That's the Ticket
Researchers wanted to test whether or not reaching middle age makes it too late to adopt healthy habits and improve your health.

"We call this the turning-back-the-clock study," says lead researcher Dr. Dana E. King.

"We want to emphasize that it's not too late to change, and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle don't accrue only to people who have been doing this all along, but you can make changes in your 50s and 60s and have a healthier, longer life because of it," he says.

Dr. King explains that some people in middle age do not change, because they think the damage is done.

"In fact, in this study, the chances of dying or having a heart attack were reduced by a third after just four years of living a healthy lifestyle," notes Dr. King.

Dr. King collected data on 15,792 men and women ages 45 to 64 who took part in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

The researchers found that during four years of follow-up, the benefit of switching to a healthy lifestyle after age 45 became apparent. In addition, the benefit happened even with modest changes in health habits.

Moreover, a healthy lifestyle was beneficial when compared with people with three or fewer healthy habits, not just compared to people with no healthy habits or only one of the healthy habits.

While people with only three healthy habits had lower mortality, they did not reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease.

Unfortunately, only 8.5 percent of people in the study practiced these four healthy behaviors, and only 8.4 percent adopted these lifestyle changes after age 45.

Dr. King says that men, African Americans, those without a college education, those with lower income, or those with a history of high blood pressure or diabetes were all less likely to adopt a healthy lifestyle past age 45.

One expert notes that living healthy reduces your risk of other diseases, too.

"Most experts agree that a health-promoting lifestyle — eating well, being active, not smoking — can cut overall risk of heart disease by 80 percent, cancer risk by 60 percent, and diabetes risk by 90 percent," says Dr. David Katz, at Yale University School of Medicine.

Starting at Any Age Still Works
Dr. King shows that it may never be too late to start over, says Dr. Katz.

"Healthy living is the most powerful medicine of all," he says. "It requires no prescription, and all of the side effects are beneficial, too. It can, admittedly, be tough at times to get there from here, but it's well worth it, and anytime is a good time to start."

Another expert agrees.

"These are very encouraging results," says Alice H. Lichtenstein, D.Sc., director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Lab at Tufts University.

"They confirm that adopting heart-healthy behaviors, regardless of age, can lead to clear benefits," says Dr. Lichtenstein.

"Additionally, by identifying individuals who are more likely to adopt heart-healthy behaviors and who is not, more targeted programs to help the more unlikely ones to change can be developed," she says.

Always consult your physician for more information.

Online Resources

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American Academy of Family Physicians - Exercise: A Healthy Habit to Start and Keep

American Council on Exercise

American Dietetic Association

American Heart Association

CDC - You Can Quit Smoking Consumer Guide

Dietary Guidelines - MyPyramid.gov

Everyday Choices - ADA, AHA, and ACS

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)