Size Of This Body Part Predicts Whether You'll Survive Heart Disease, Kitasato University Hospital Study
What does the size of your arm say about you, other than how much you can bench? Maybe whether you will survive heart disease.
A study in the American Journal of Cardiology looked at the upper arms of almost 600 older adults with cardiovascular disease and found a link between their circumferences — the distances around them — and survival rates. The researchers took measurements of the mid-upper arm and calf circumferences, two numbers which are used to help determine muscle mass, and studied the patients’ muscle function through their gait speed and grip strength. During a period of follow-up averaging about a year and a half, 72 of the adults, who were all at least 65 years old, had died, but those with higher circumferences had better outcomes.
A study in the American Journal of Cardiology looked at the upper arms of almost 600 older adults with cardiovascular disease and found a link between their circumferences — the distances around them — and survival rates. The researchers took measurements of the mid-upper arm and calf circumferences, two numbers which are used to help determine muscle mass, and studied the patients’ muscle function through their gait speed and grip strength. During a period of follow-up averaging about a year and a half, 72 of the adults, who were all at least 65 years old, had died, but those with higher circumferences had better outcomes.