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A new study suggests that the ability to do a lot of pushups can be a sign not only of strength, but also of good heart health.
The study tested the endurance of firefighters of average age. It appears that those who could do more than 40 consecutive pumps were 96% less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease or other heart problems over a 10-year period, by compared to men who can do less than 10. UPS.
However, as the study only concerns male firefighters, who occupy very active jobs, it is unclear whether the results apply to average Joes. [9 New Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy]
But the findings suggest that "push-up ability could be a simple and gratuitous method to help badess the risk of cardiovascular disease," the study's lead author, Justin Yang, a resident of Medicine's Work at Harvard TH School of Public Health Chan, Boston, said in a statement.
The study was published Feb. 15 in the journal JAMA Network Open.
A simple test
Doctors know that being in good physical shape is linked to better heart health. But it can be difficult for doctors to accurately badess a person's fitness level during a routine visit. Doctors sometimes use "treadmill tests" to badess a person's fitness level. In these badessments, people run on a treadmill until their heart rate reaches a certain level. But the tests are very time consuming and require expensive equipment, so they are not done regularly.
The new study tested whether a simple exercise such as a push could provide clues to heart health. To find out, the researchers looked at the records of over 1,100 firefighters in Indiana (39 years old on average) who had undergone a thrust test at the beginning of the study. The participants were then followed for a decade to see if they had experienced a cardiovascular event, such as a diagnosis of coronary heart disease, heart failure or cardiac arrest.
During the study period, 37 cardiovascular events were observed in study participants, but only one cardiovascular event occurred in men who performed more than 40 pumps.
The study found that those who could do 11 pumps or more had a lower risk of cardiovascular events than those who could do 10 or fewer. And men who could do more than 40 pumps had the greatest risk reduction.
The researchers cautioned, however, that the push-up ability was not necessarily an "independent predictor" of the risk of heart disease. In other words, there may be other factors related to the risk of heart disease that are also related to the number of pumps a person can perform. These factors could include the age of a person, his body mbad index (BMI) and his aerobic fitness level. But, in general, pumping capacity could be an indicator of overall fitness, researchers said.
"This study highlights the importance of fitness for health and explains why clinicians should evaluate this condition," says lead author Stefanos Kales, a professor in Harvard TH's Department of Environmental Health School Chan, said in the declaration.
Further research is now needed to examine the link between pushing ability and heart disease in the general population, including less active women and men, the researchers noted in their article.
Originally published on Science live.
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