In a recent study from the University of Miami, researchers found spending your golden years in a place with lots of trees and other vegetation can be visually pleasing – and it also might be good for your heart.
They crunched the numbers to determine that nearly 250,000 Medicare recipients living in the greenest parts of Miami-Dade County were 25 percent less likely to have a heart attack than those in the least green neighborhoods.
Green space encourages physical activity and cuts air pollution. Some studies suggest even viewing nature and greenness can be beneficial.
While other studies say the health benefits of nearby green space can include lowered risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, this is the first one to focus on heart diseases at the block level.
In the study, the team measured the greenness of Miami-Dade’s 36,000 census blocks using satellite imagery. Greenery typically absorbs visible light and hard surfaces reflect it.
Medicare data from those same census blocks showed rates of heart attack, ischemic heart disease, heart failure and a type of irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation in people 65 and older.
The researchers found a significant correlation between living near green space and a lowered risk for three of the four heart diseases studied.
Along with the 25 percent lower risk of heart attack, people living in the greenest parts of Miami saw their risk drop by 20 percent for ischemic heart disease and 16% for heart failure.
For AFib, however, risk only fell 6%, which might be more attributable to genetics.
The neighborhood focus of the new research helps clarify how proximity factors into the potential health benefits of green space.
More work remains to closely tie living in a leafy neighborhood to reduced the risk of heart disease.
Well-established guidelines for preventing heart disease include staying active, eating a healthy diet, not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight. If living near green space is to join the list, research will need to more precisely show why it’s heart-healthy.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about this weight loss surgery may lower heart disease risk and findings of common flu may play a big role in heart attacks in older people.
For more information about heart disease and your health, please see recent studies about a new way to prevent heart attacks, strokes and results showing that these foods linked to high risks of heart disease and stroke.
The study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. One author of the study is Scott Brown.
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