Prediction of heart diseases has a new measure as scientists say that the number of push-ups a person can do can give an idea about his/her status of heart diseases. This is a simple test to determine people’s heart health. Researchers from Harvard University have led this research, where the ability of people to do more than 40 push-ups was related to lower risk of heart diseases. Researchers say that push-up capacity is a no-cost and easy way to assess the risk of cardiovascular diseases in people. The results of submaximal treadmill tests also weren’t as strong as the results of measuring the push-up capacity of people.
The group of researchers studied the middle-aged men and said that people, who were able to do 40 push-ups at once, indicated a high level of physical fitness. The point is not that these people were less prone to heart problems, but that this simple test is helpful in the prediction of coronary artery diseases, heart attacks, etc. Expensive equipment like treadmills doesn’t give accurate predictions as compared to this simple test of push-ups. However, these results don’t necessarily apply to everyone. The team of researchers studies 1,104 active male firefighters of average age 39.6 initially. These males were observed for a period of a decade. Out of these men, 37 experienced cardiovascular issues like sudden cardiac death, heart failure, coronary artery disease, etc.
All these 37 men were not able to do 40 or more push-ups in the fitness exam, as per the study. So, the people who can do 40 plus push-ups at once are comparatively healthy. In these tests, there were few men who couldn’t even complete 10 push-ups. However, firefighters cannot represent the other sections of society. Some researchers also said that the push-up capacity can be correlated with physical fitness and aerobic capacity. Push-up capacity is easily understandable to both patients and clinicians. This exam also doesn’t require any special equipment and can be easily performed in less time.
