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Home Care Companions Help Seniors Stay Active and Reduce Their Blood Pressure

July 22, 2019

Active Morris and Essex County Seniors Have Lower Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Home Care Companions Help Seniors Stay Active and Reduce Their Blood Pressure

Studies Recommend that Morris County Seniors Spend 10-minutes doing Light Intensity Activity Daily



The Journal of the American Heart Association suggests light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, coupled with less sedentary time, is associated with more favorable levels of heart and vessel disease markers in older seniors. Additionally, 10-minutes spent in light intensity activity were associated with around 0.8 percent lower t-PA levels in both men and women.
 
Less sedentary time and greater time in low-intensity activity were beneficially related to IL-6 and t-PA, regardless of time spent at higher intensity activity. E-selectin was the only biomarker which showed no notable associations with physical activity and sedentary time (but was related to fitness levels). The researchers also found that individuals in the cohort with better cardio respiratory fitness had a healthier biomarker profile.
 
The  findings are important because they show “that greater time spent in light physical activity in early old age, which makes up much of the time spent in physical activity by older adults, is associated with a better CVD biomarker profile”.

“The researchers noted stronger associations in women, which suggest gender differences, the 60 to 64 age range represents an important transition between work and retirement, when lifestyle behaviors tend to change,” Elhakeem said in a prepared statement issued by the American Heart Association. “It may, therefore, be an opportunity to promote increased physical activity. In addition, cardiovascular disease risk is higher in older adults. It’s important to understand how activity might influence risk in this age group. We found it’s important to replace time spent sedentary with any intensity level of activity”.

The study of 1,622 men and women between 60 to 64 years old, combined heart rate and movement, and determine the overall time for physical activity.  “Measuring both light and moderate-to-vigorous and sedentary time.  Light physical activity was defined as slow walking, stretching, golfing and gardening, and moderate-to-vigorous activity was defined as brisk walking, bicycling, dancing, tennis, lawn mowing or vacuuming”.

Here is what the study found:

Each additional 10 minutes spent in moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity was associated with leptin levels that were 3.7 percent lower in men and 6.6 percent lower in women.
Each additional 10 minutes spent sedentary was associated with 0.6 percent higher IL-6 levels in men and 1.4 percent higher in women.

Article Source can be found here: https://www.cardiovascularbusiness.com/topics/acute-coronary-syndrome/physically-active-seniors-lower-cvd-risk
 
BrightStar Care of Morris County helps seniors stay active. Our Senior Companion services ensure that seniors are safe performing daily activities, and support a healthy and safe home environment that includes outdoor activities and errands.  
 
Learn more about our senior companion services by visiting our website here.
Source: https://www.brightstarcare.com/morris-county/home-care/companion-care-services
 
BrightStar Care is ready to help get your senior loved one active! For more information about our home care and companion care services in Morris County please contact us at 973-898-0800.
 
BrightStar Care of Morris and Essex County provides a full continuum of private duty home care services comprised of companionship, personal care, transportation, medication assistance, skilled nursing and more to improve the lives of those living with care needs.