Moderate-to-high intensity exercise like jogging, swimming, or tennis may help reduce stroke risk in older men. But sorry ladies, for some reason the results don’t translate for women.
A study included almost 3,300 men and women in Manhattan, with an average age of 69. The men who did moderate-to-high intensity exercise were 63 percent less likely to have a stroke than people who didn’t exercise. Over a five year period, the baseline risk of ischemic stroke (the leading type of stroke) for all participants was 4.3 percent; 2.7 percent for those who did moderate-to-high intensity exercise and 4.6 percent for those who didn’t exercise.
“A large percentage of the participants were not taking part in any physical activities,” says study author Dr. Joshua Z. Willey, of Columbia University Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia. “This may be true of many elderly people who live in cities. Identifying ways to improve physical activity among these people may be a key goal for public health.”
Stroke is an underrated health threat. It is the leading cause of disability in the United States and the third leading cause of death. The study appeared in the November 24 issue of the journal Neurology.
(via: HealthDay)
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