Eat dark chocolate, watch funny movies, avoid stressful jobs, and pedal hard when biking are all ingredients in the recipe for a healthy heart, according to experts meeting in Paris this week.
Whether one is afflicted by a heart attack, high blood pressure, or constricted arteries depends in large measure on a host of lifestyle choices.
But the ideal formula for avoiding heart problems remains elusive: it is hard to tease apart the factors that impact cardiovascular health, and the right mix of things to do — or not do — can vary from person to person.
Even commonsense measures such as exercise or a balanced diet must be fine-tuned.
It is not, for example, how long one rides a bike but the intensity of one's effort that matters most, according to research presented at a gathering of the European Society of Cardiology.
The study, led by Danish cardiologist Peter Schnohr, showed that men who regularly cycled at a fast clip survive 5.3 years longer than men who pedaled at a much slower pace. Exerting "average intensity" was enough to earn an extra 2.9 years.
For women, the gap was less striking but still significant: 2.9 and 2.2 years longer, respectively, compared to slowpokes.
"A greater part of the daily physical activity in leisure time should be vigorous, based on the individual's own perception of intensity," Schnohr said in a statement.
The old adage "laughter is the best medicine" was proven true by another study which found that a good dose of humor helps blood vessels.
