Middle-aged folks who don’t exercise are putting themselves at risk of life-threatening complex heartbeat irregularities, a new study says. Adults 40 to 65 with low fitness levels had a 52% increased risk for irregular heartbeat disorders, also known as arrhythmias, according to findings presented Wednesday at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting in Madrid.…  read on >  read on >

Seniors with known heart-related problems aren’t doing a very good job taking steps to protect their health, a new study says. Older folks with high blood pressure, stroke survivors and heart failure patients in the United States all have been neglecting Life’s Essential 8 — a checklist of lifestyle factors that can protect heart health,…  read on >  read on >

Cities can be designed in ways that promote walking, providing residents with built-in health benefits, a new study says. People who live in more walkable cities do indeed get more daily steps, researchers reported Aug. 13 in the journal Nature. Average steps increase or decrease by about 1,100 per day when people move between cities…  read on >  read on >

Kids’ academic test scores might improve if they boost their brain power with some high-intensity exercise before picking up a pen, a new pilot study says. Children had significantly higher test scores after they spent nine minutes performing high-knee walking, jumping jacks, lunges and squats, researchers report in the journal Psychology of Sport & Exercise.…  read on >  read on >

Slightly altering your stride while walking could considerably ease pain caused by wear-and-tear knee arthritis, a new study says. Foot positioning while walking can reduce stress on a person’s knee joint, researchers reported Aug. 12 in The Lancet Rheumatology. People trained to angle their feet slightly inward or outward from their natural alignment experienced slower…  read on >  read on >

A mobile smartphone app can help reduce the risk of death among people at high risk for suicide, a new study says. The app, called OTX-202, reduced suicide attempts by 58% among a large group of recently discharged psychiatric patients who had previously attempted suicide, researchers reported Aug. 8 in JAMA Network Open. App users…  read on >  read on >