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Scientists believe that amount of moderate to vigorous exercise among 70 to 75-year-olds reduces their risk of developing a heart condition when they are beyond 80. Researchers have long known that physical activity lengthens our years and reduces the risk from cardiovascular disease. They drew on the Progetto Veneto Anziani study of 3,099 Italians aged 65 and over.

Initial tests including a detailed medical history, physical examination, scans and a range of blood tests were carried out between 1995 and 1997.

Two further assessments followed four and seven years later.

When the study began, women were more likely than men to have more than four coexisting conditions.

Osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and chronic kidney disease were more common among women than men while diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were more common among men than women.

Participants filled in questionnaires about how much exercise they did.

Moderate exercise included walking, bowls and fishing while vigorous activity included working out at the gym, cycling, dancing, swimming and gardening.

People who clocked up 20 minutes of exercise or more were deemed to be active while those who did less than that amount of physical activity were deemed to be inactive.

During the monitoring period, 1,037 new diagnoses of heart disease, heart failure and stroke were made.

The biggest reduction in risk was found in new cases of coronary heart disease and heart failure in late old age.

No significant link between exercise and the risk of stroke was found. 

Men who took regular exercise were at a 52 percent lower risk of developing heart disease than those who tended to shirk it.

Exercising at 70 appeared to have the greatest benefits later in life.

The sharpest reduction in heart disease and heart failure was found in people who exercised for 20 to 40 minutes a day.

Study author Dr Claudio Barbiellini Amidei said: “These results suggest that public health policies should be targeted at promoting or beginning physical activity in mid and early late life.”

The findings were published in the journal Heart.

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