Researchers have found that drinking enough water and staying hydrated may reduce the risk of severe heart problems in the future.
Heart failure, a chronic condition that develops when the heart does not pump enough blood for the body’s needs affects more than 6.2 million Americans, a little more than 2% of the population It is also more common among adults ages 65 and older. “Similar to reducing salt intake, drinking enough water and staying hydrated are ways to support our hearts and may help reduce long-term risks for heart disease,” Natalia Dmitrieva, Ph.D., the lead study author and a researcher in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of NIH.
What does the Research says?
Staying well-hydrated may be associated with a reduced risk for developing heart failure, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Their findings, which appear in the European Heart journal, suggest that consuming sufficient amounts of fluids throughout life not only supports essential body functioning, but may also reduce the risk of severe heart problems in the future.
After conducting preclinical research that suggested connections between dehydration and cardiac fibrosis (hardening of the heart muscles), Dmitrieva and researchers looked for similar associations in large-scale population studies.To start, they analyzed data from more than 15,000 adults, ages 45-66, who enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study between 1987-1989 and shared information from medical visits over a 25-year period.In selecting participants for their retrospective review, the scientists focused on those whose hydration levels were within a normal range and who did not have diabetes, obesity, or heart failure at the start of the study. Approximately 11,814 adults were included in the final analysis, and, of those, the researchers found 1,366 (11.56%) later developed heart failure.
Health Benefits
The researchers recommended a daily fluid intake of 6-8 cups (1.5-2.1 litres) for women; and 8-12 cups (2-3 litres) for men.Generally, drinking enough water each day helps ensure a string of wonders in our health status, especially as we grow older.The health benefits of staying hydrated are numerous, ranging from regulating body temperature to decreasing joint pains, preventing infections, delivering nutrients to cells, improving cognition, mood and sleep quality, as well as keeping the organs functioning properly.
