FEATURED RESEARCH

Healthy aging refers to both the quality and quantity of life—adding life to our years and years to our life. The anthropologist Ashley Montagu once said, “The best way to age is to die young as late as possible.” Living longer without illness is a goal for most people.

Cardiorespiratory (aerobic) fitness is known to be associated with both longevity and the reduction of chronic diseases, such as heart disease. In a new observational study, funded in part by the National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), researchers found that cardiorespiratory fitness, as objectively measured at middle age, was significantly associated with a lower risk of developing several chronic diseases decades later. Diane Bild, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Director for the Prevention and Population Sciences Program, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the NHLBI, wrote an editorial to accompany the publication. In a Q and A, Dr. Bild discusses healthy aging, the importance of the study, and new research in progress.

The Epidemiology Forum facilitates an active and highly engaged discussion of the future of epidemiology in general and the study of cardiovascular diseases in particular.

As “on-the-job” training is replaced by structured approaches, it becomes increasingly challenging to identify and train heart, lung, blood, and sleep epidemiologists in core competencies, while also providing learning opportunities that will foster multidisciplinary research in emerging scientific areas. Planning for the future entails preparing a new generation of highly skilled epidemiologists.

Heart catheter procedures guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are as safe as x-ray-guided procedures and take no more time, according to a pilot study conducted by researchers within the intramural program of the NHLBI. The results of the study indicate that real-time MRI-guided catheterization (shown) could be a radiation-free alternative to certain x-ray-guided procedures.

“This could be the first chapter of a big story,” said Robert S. Balaban, Ph.D., scientific director of the NHLBI’s Division of Intramural Research. “It provides evidence that clinical heart catheter procedures are possible without using radiation, which could be especially valuable in areas such as pediatrics.”

The Heart Truth^® for Women: A Speaker’s Kit is easy to use and supplies all you need to hold a 1-hour educational session on heart disease—instructions, handouts, responses to likely questions, and a compelling video, which features women telling their own stories about how heart disease changed their lives. The kits are available in English and Spanish.