Is your heart in good shape? Try this trick to find out

By MiNDFOOD

Is your heart in good shape? Try this trick to find out
The heart beats about 2.5 billion times over the average lifetime, so keep it in good working order.

Climbing four flights of stairs in less than a minute indicates good heart health, according to research presented at a recent scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

“The stairs test is an easy way to check your heart health,” said study author Dr. Jesús Peteiro, a cardiologist at University Hospital A Coruña, Spain.

“If it takes you more than one-and-a-half minutes to ascend four flights of stairs, your health is suboptimal, and it would be a good idea to consult a doctor.”

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in both Australia and New Zealand, representing one in five of all deaths in Australia, and one in three of all deaths in NZ.

Risk factors contributing to heart health 

According to the Heart Foundation, key risk factors that contribute to heart conditions are largely preventable, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Being overweight or obese are also among the leading risk factors for heart disease.

As well as standard treatment and lifestyle recommendations, recent studies also show some surprising remedies to improve heart health including eating chillies and high intensity exercise.

Research published by the American Health Association has shown that consumption of chilli peppers may reduce the relative risk of cardiovascular disease mortality by 26 per cent.

And scientists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have shown that high-intensity interval training strengthens the heart even more than moderate exercise does because it improves a number of mechanisms.

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