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.
