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CNN Live At Daybreak
Catching Heart Disease Before It's Too Late
Aired September 24, 2003 - 06:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S., but there may be a new way to catch this killer before it's too late.
Lisa Drayer of dietwatch.com joins us with the good news.
Lisa, is the key to treadmill testing? I mean should we all go out and get tested?
LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Well, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Until now we've known that abnormal results on treadmill tests, or what we think of as a stress test, is associated with increased risk of morality in healthy men. But the relationship in women hasn't been clear. Well, now we have some answers. Researchers from Johns Hopkins studied about 3,000 women on these tests and what they found was that there were three factors that independently predicted risk of cardiovascular deaths.
That included low exercise intensity. That relates to the amount of time spent on the treadmill during this test. Also, low heart rate recovery. That's the ability of the heart rate to return to normal after peak intensity exercise is reached. And, also, not achieving a target heart rate during a stress test was also associated with increased risk. In fact, women who scored in the lowest categories on these different factors had three and a half times greater risk for cardiovascular deaths as compared to those who scored in the highest categories. And, Carol, that's after taking into account risk factors for heart disease, such as having high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
So that's the really good news, if we're in good physical shape, even if we have these risk factors, we can achieve physical fitness and reduce our risk of disease.
LIN: You know, I find the treadmill to be a pain, though. I really like the elliptical, you know, the big pedals that you just kind of work at.
DRAYER: Right.
LIN: Because I work up a pretty good sweat. But I always wonder, because the treadmill looks harder to do, if that's a better workout.
DRAYER: Well, most people find that the treadmill is easier in the fact that it has -- there's no learning curve. You can just get on and start moving. But the elliptical is better if you have joint issues, for example, if you have a hip problem, a knee problem. The reason is there's no impact. So while both of these are weight bearing exercises, meaning that they can help preserve the bone and muscle mass -- both of these decline with age -- the treadmill can get us moving in a simple manner and has a good degree of impact that the elliptical, because it has less impact, it's not stressing our bones as much, so it's really good for those with joint problems, because otherwise it could be pretty painful, all that impact on the treadmill, if you do have a joint issue.
LIN: Yes. And you can read the paper with the elliptical, you know? You're not bouncing up and down like that.
DRAYER: That's true. But most people say the one that you're going to stick with the most is the preferred method.
LIN: Yes. Yes, you're right. There you go.
Thanks so much.
DRAYER: Thank you.
LIN: Get out there exercising.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 24, 2003 - 06:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S., but there may be a new way to catch this killer before it's too late.
Lisa Drayer of dietwatch.com joins us with the good news.
Lisa, is the key to treadmill testing? I mean should we all go out and get tested?
LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Well, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Until now we've known that abnormal results on treadmill tests, or what we think of as a stress test, is associated with increased risk of morality in healthy men. But the relationship in women hasn't been clear. Well, now we have some answers. Researchers from Johns Hopkins studied about 3,000 women on these tests and what they found was that there were three factors that independently predicted risk of cardiovascular deaths.
That included low exercise intensity. That relates to the amount of time spent on the treadmill during this test. Also, low heart rate recovery. That's the ability of the heart rate to return to normal after peak intensity exercise is reached. And, also, not achieving a target heart rate during a stress test was also associated with increased risk. In fact, women who scored in the lowest categories on these different factors had three and a half times greater risk for cardiovascular deaths as compared to those who scored in the highest categories. And, Carol, that's after taking into account risk factors for heart disease, such as having high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
So that's the really good news, if we're in good physical shape, even if we have these risk factors, we can achieve physical fitness and reduce our risk of disease.
LIN: You know, I find the treadmill to be a pain, though. I really like the elliptical, you know, the big pedals that you just kind of work at.
DRAYER: Right.
LIN: Because I work up a pretty good sweat. But I always wonder, because the treadmill looks harder to do, if that's a better workout.
DRAYER: Well, most people find that the treadmill is easier in the fact that it has -- there's no learning curve. You can just get on and start moving. But the elliptical is better if you have joint issues, for example, if you have a hip problem, a knee problem. The reason is there's no impact. So while both of these are weight bearing exercises, meaning that they can help preserve the bone and muscle mass -- both of these decline with age -- the treadmill can get us moving in a simple manner and has a good degree of impact that the elliptical, because it has less impact, it's not stressing our bones as much, so it's really good for those with joint problems, because otherwise it could be pretty painful, all that impact on the treadmill, if you do have a joint issue.
LIN: Yes. And you can read the paper with the elliptical, you know? You're not bouncing up and down like that.
DRAYER: That's true. But most people say the one that you're going to stick with the most is the preferred method.
LIN: Yes. Yes, you're right. There you go.
Thanks so much.
DRAYER: Thank you.
LIN: Get out there exercising.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
