New on heart health for walkers and sneezers
Q: What’s the latest news about keeping my heart healthy? Heart disease runs in my family, and I’ve seen how terrible it can be. -- Lee T., Franklin, Tennessee
A: The recent news about heart health identifies surprising links between cardiovascular problems and an everyday remedy that will keep you healthy.
Allergies and allergic asthma seem to up the risk for heart woes. A paper presented at the Asia 2022 American College of Cardiology conference says a history of allergic disorders is associated with increased risk of developing high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. If you develop allergies and asthma between the ages of 18 and 57, you’ll have a higher risk of high blood pressure. Develop either between ages 39 and 57, and your risk for coronary heart disease increases if you are male and Black/ African American. That means folks with allergies (there’s 50 million of you) and/or asthma (24 million) should talk with a pulmonologist about getting the condition under control and talk to a cardiologist about having regular screenings and active intervention with lifestyle upgrades and meds, if needed, to protect your heart and brain.
The good news: If you’re what U.K. researchers are calling a “brisk” walker (that’s a 15-minute mile) it turns out that not only does it improve your motor control, musculoskeletal health, cardio fitness, respiration, cognition and mental health -- it actually protects your telomeres from agerelated erosion. Telomeres are part of your DNA that protect the ends of your chromosomes from becoming progressively shorter -- and less protective of your longevity and health. But when you keep your telomeres healthy with brisk walking, you have a younger Realage. In fact, the researchers have found that you live 20 years longer than slow walkers, who take longer than 60 minutes to walk 3 miles.
We know genetics is not destiny, and you can do a great deal to reduce cardio risks with smart lifestyle choices and good medical intervention.