A program of physical exercise can be beneficial for people with heart failure, a condition in which the heart cannot keep up with the body's demands because of damage from a heart attack or coronary artery disease. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among people age 65 and older. Because exercise and moderate weight loss are turning out to be so effective for many of the problems of old age, the center will build on these findings during its next five years. The Medical Center and WFU will use their cardiac rehabilitation program, which helps people recover from heart attacks, to test ways to keep people active after they leave a formal exercise program. And, because the diet and hypertension study showed that older people can successfully lose weight, a new study will look at how weight loss combined with exercise affects osteoarthritis of the knee.
Excess weight is a major risk factor for osteoarthritis.
The J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging and Rehabilitation, a new Medical Center building that opened in April, includes a geriatric research center where many of the Pepper Center studies will take place. The center includes facilities for cardiac stress testing, a gait laboratory, strength testing, and functional status testing. Inc. All rights reserved.