Prescribe holidays for the middle-aged to keep their hearts healthy, doctors urged

HOLIDAYS should be prescribed by GPS to help people at risk of heart disease live longer, researchers have said.

Heart experts said doctors should recommend a break to middle-aged patients trying to overhaul their health, not just tick them off about bad habits.

A 40-year Finnish study, which involved 1,200 businessmen at risk of heart disease, found that men who took plenty of holidays lived far longer than those who did not. Those who took less than three weeks holiday annually were 37 per cent more likely to die young over the next 30 years. Prof Timo Strandberg, the lead researcher, from Helsinki University, said the difference between those who took plenty of holidays, and those who did not, was “clear and significant”.

“The men who had shorter vacations had higher mortality than those who had longer vacations,” he said. “Aggressive lifestyle modifications bring increased stress and may be unhealthy for individuals who are vulnerable.”

Prof Joep Perk, the spokesman for the European Society of Cardiology, said people needed to relax as well as trying to be healthy. Too often those who were given a wake-up call about their health became “fanatical” about their lifestyles, he said. “There is a lot of stress, they run around. I sometimes wonder whether this is healthy.

“Asking 95-year-old people what was the reason they reached 95, almost always the response I get was ‘I enjoyed life, I had a nice time’. Don’t forget to enjoy life, you only have one.”

♦ Those at high risk of heart attacks could be put on treatment years in advance. Oxford University has developed new technology to spot fat around the heart. The findings were greeted as a “game changer” by cardiologists.