Healthy Life Style Pays Off for Both Men and Women

All that heart-healthy advice about eating the right foods, exercising and losing weight pay off in real life for both men and women, two new studies show. The reports, both originating at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and published in the July 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, focused on different aspects of cardiovascular risk in two large groups: the 83,882 women in the second Nurses' Health Study, and the 20,900 men in the Physicians' Health Study I. Both arrived at the same conclusion: Do the right things, and you get measurable benefits, U.S. News & World Report reports.

Meanhwile, high blood pressure contributes to more excess deaths in women than any other preventable factor. But following a healthy lifestyle could lower women's risk of high blood pressure by as much as 80%.

In a new study, women achieved that reduction in risk by taking these healthy lifestyle steps: maintaining a normal weight; performing daily exercise; eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and low in sodium; and taking a folic acid supplement, WebMD reports.

However, heart failure occurs when the heart becomes weak and is unable to sufficiently pump blood to all parts of the body.

Aspects of one’s life such as diet, level of exercise, amount of alcohol they consume and so on can play a huge role in the overall health of the heart.

Researchers tracked more than 20,000 men who participated in the Physician’s Health Study from 1982 to 2008, dBTechno reports.